Vigo hosts ocean regatta start Sunday

La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec is due to leave Vigo on Sunday, May 24, at 16:00 local time after a four-day stopover centered on the Portocultura waterfront, according to local and event organizers. The solo ocean-racing fleet arrived in Vigo as part of the 57th edition of the French regatta, which this year scheduled the city as the end of the first leg and the start of the second. Public programming in Vigo has run from May 20 to May 24, with concerts, school visits, workshops and family activities around the race village. (farodevigo.es) The next leg is set to send the fleet from the Ría de Vigo to Pornichet, France. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### Why is Vigo hosting the start if the race began in France? Perros-Guirec, in Brittany, hosted the overall start of the 2026 race on May 17, and Vigo was designated as the first stopover on the official route. The Vigo departure on May 24 is the start of the second leg, not the opening start of the full event. The official race stopover page lists Vigo as the host city from May 20 to May 24, 2026, after the fleet’s arrival from France. Local coverage said more than 40 boats were expected in the city, and one report put the fleet at 41 boats as it approached the Galician coast. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### What exactly happens in Vigo on Sunday afternoon? Sunday’s key moment is the scheduled 16:00 departure from Vigo toward Pornichet, according to the event program published ahead of the stopover. La Voz de Galicia described that sendoff as the “gran momento” of the four-day visit and said family activities would continue in Portocultura before the fleet left the estuary. (lavozdegalicia.es) Portocultura has served as the public-facing base for the stopover, with the regatta village opening there on May 21. Local reports said the site hosted official ceremonies, music, food programming and public access activities during the fleet’s stay. (lasolitaire.com) ### Who is Philippine Collod, and what did she say about Vigo? Philippine Collod is listed by the race organization as a project manager for La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec under OC Sport Pen Duick. Faro de Vigo identified her as the project director in coverage of the stopover and quoted her as saying, “Vigo nos lo ha puesto muy fácil,” or “Vigo has made it very easy for us.” (lavozdegalicia.es) Faro de Vigo said Collod highlighted the city’s involvement, the atmosphere at Portocultura and the reception given to visiting teams. That account matches the broader positioning used by local organizers and partners, who have presented the stopover as both a sporting event and a public waterfront program. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### How much of this is sport, and how much is city promotion? Fundación Traslatio, one of the local organizing partners, said in April that Vigo would again become a capital of ocean racing from May 20 to May 24 and that the city would host both the finish of the first leg and the start of the second. (lasolitaire.com) The same announcement said the stopover was designed to combine elite competition with a public program in the city. The official race site describes Vigo as a sheltered port with a strong maritime economy and cites its record of hosting international regattas, including the Volvo Ocean Race start in 2005. (farodevigo.es) Local coverage has framed the current stopover in similar terms, tying the regatta to Vigo’s seafaring identity and visitor appeal. ### What should readers watch next? Sunday, May 24, at 16:00 local time is the next fixed milestone, when the fleet is scheduled to leave Vigo for Pornichet. The official route page lists the Vigo-Pornichet leg as the race’s second stage, and the race’s third leg is scheduled to depart Pornichet on May 30. (lavozdegalicia.es) (lasolitaire.com) (fundaciontraslatio.org)