2011 Tall Ships Festival Not Going Ahead

VICTORIA, BC (Dec. 16, 2010) – The tough economic climate has taken the wind out of the sails of the 2011 Victoria Tall Ships Festival and it will not proceed next June as planned, organizers of the event announced today.

“The gap between the funds we have raised in the community and what it will cost to stage the festival is too large to bridge,” said Victoria Tall Ships Society president Roger Girouard.  “This is a fiscally responsible decision by our Board of Directors. The Society is not prepared to spend money it doesn’t have or to make promises to the community and our partners that we will be unable to keep.”

The four-day festival was scheduled to take place June 9-12, 2011 in Victoria’s Inner Harbour. The Victoria Tall Ships Society, a volunteer group of people who are passionate about bringing Tall Ships festivals to Victoria, has staged successful events in 2005 and 2008.

“There is tremendous enthusiasm in the community for this festival, but the tough economic climate hampered our ability this year to raise the needed funds to stage a successful event in June,” said Girouard.

The hugely popular 2008 Tall Ships Festival attracted more than 32,000 paid attendees and an independent report showed that the event generated an economic impact of more than $8 million for the local economy based on visitor spending.

“The Victoria Tall Ships Society remains focused on bringing Tall Ships festivals to our wonderful city. We look forward to welcoming these magnificent sailing vessels to Victoria again in the future,” Girouard added.

The Victoria Tall Ships Society wishes to thank its corporate partners, the City of Victoria, the Provincial Capital Commission, the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, Tourism Victoria, the hundreds of dedicated volunteers and the many other groups who continue to support the Society’s efforts to make Victoria a port of call for exciting Tall Ships events.

By taking this unprecedented action now, the Victoria Tall Ships Society will leave no outstanding debts owed to any sponsor, ships captain, or partner.

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