The organisation behind the Sailing World Championships has signed an agreement with global coatings company Hempel to be title sponsor of next year's championships to be held in Aarhus, Denmark in July and August 2018. The event's official title will be: "Hempel Sailing World Championships Aarhus Denmark 2018".

Held every four years, the Sailing World Championships is the biggest global sailing event in the world and the principal qualification event for the Olympic Sailing Competition.

The 'Hempel Sailing World Championships A arhus Denmark 2018' is expected to draw more than 1,500 sailors from 100 nations, as well as over 400,000 visitors, making it three times larger than the sailing events at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Its goal is to bring sailors and spectators closer together and spread enthusiasm, both at sea and on land, to help make sailing more accessible than ever before.

The Mayor of Aarhus Jacob Bundsgaard, Chairman of the Presidium behind 'Hempel Sailing World Championships Aarhus Denmark 2018', is very satisfied with the signing of a title sponsor agreement, which sends a clear signal about the international perspective of the event.

"Hempel is a global company engaged in more than 80 countries. The title sponsorship indicates that the 'Hempel Sailing World Championships Aarhus Denmark 2018' is not just the biggest single sports event ever held in Aarhus, but also one of the biggest international sailing events. As such, the title sponsorship is very much aligned with the ambitions and the positioning of Aarhus as an international event and sailing city."   

Hempel Group President and CEO Henrik Andersen agrees. "To us, nothing is more natural than supporting the event in which the world's best sailors meet and compete," he says. "At Hempel, we cherish cooperation and high performance. This is reflected in our business strategy Journey to Excellence, where we seek to become excellent at everything we do, exactly as the world's best sailors and their teams do. At the same time, we regard the event as a good opportunity for us to show what Hempel stands for, and how we look to support local communities, which is an important part of our values." 

According to Klaus Natorp, Head of the Sailing World Championships 2018, this makes Hempel the ideal main sponsor for the event.

He comments: "Hempel is an ambitious and innovative partner with great engagement in the sailing world. As such, the partners behind the World Championships and Hempel share the same values in many ways, as well as a common interest in bringing new energy to sailing and in creating a world-class event."    

You can find more information about the Sailing World Championships, including press material, at www.aarhus2018.com