The UK round of the award-winning Extreme Sailing Series now in its sixth year will be staged in Cardiff between the 30 August - 2 September, 2012.

In a three-year deal, Cardiff won the bid to host the UK event of this global sailing circuit that is only one of four events with ISAF (International Sailing Federation) Special Event status, positioning the city alongside the other seven premium international sporting venues hosting an Extreme Sailing Series Act in 2012. The host venue agreement with Cardiff City is backed by a Welsh Government grant for 2012-2014.

The Extreme 40 catamarans, raced by many of the world’s best sailors, will race on Cardiff Bay over four days with the event open to the public between the 25-27 August as the Extreme 40 fleet race in the circuit’s action packed ‘stadium’ format. First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones said:

"I am delighted to announce that the Extreme Sailing Series will be coming to Cardiff Bay from 2012.

"This is a top-level, international sporting event which puts the Welsh capital alongside cities such as Singapore, Istanbul, Nice and Boston.

"By supporting events like this, the Welsh Government is aiming to promote Wales as a world class sailing and water sports venue, as well as generating economic benefits by attracting more visitors to our shores."

Executive chairman of the organizing company behind the series, Mark Turner of OC ThirdPole, said:

"The circuit continues to represent perfectly the developments in the world at large, with its balance of east and west, different cultures and languages and variety of conditions."

"Year on year the commercial value to the host cities of securing this event for the host cities has steadily increased, and this is reflected in 2012 developments. A pro-active and innovative host venue is critical to the success of the event, and we are very excited in this respect by the partnership with Cardiff and the Welsh Government"

The 2012 Extreme Sailing Series will be staged at eight different international venues across three continents, attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators. Alongside other significant media exposure, once again a dedicated TV series will be produced and broadcast on up to 40 channels around the world, including CNBC, Bloomberg, Channel 4 (UK), Sky (UK), Al Jazeera, Fox (Latin America, Australia Middle East), ESPN, Sport+ (France), RAI (Italy).