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18.
August
2017.
Cardiff Harbour Festival hosts Extreme Sailing Series, August Bank Holiday Weekend 26- 28 2017

This bank holiday you can expect three, absolute jam-packed days of sporting action, music and family fun for everyone as Cardiff Harbour Festival returns with an enormous splash.

 

Host to theExtreme Sailing Series™for the sixth consecutive year, the event welcomesworld class sailors and breath-taking racingasa fleet of elite-level international sailing teamsmake Cardiff theirsixth stop on the action-packed global tour. Squads include the British Land Rover BAR Academy, whose crew are mentored by senior members of Sir Ben Ainslie's America's Cup team.

Stadium Racing will headline the event and take place each day from 2pm-5pm*.

New for 2017 is the Flying Phantom Series. Two-man pocket-rocket catamaran's will take flight each morning from 10am-2pm*, ahead of the main Extreme Sailing Series event in the afternoon.

 

Over on dry land there is an extravaganza of entertainment suitable for all ages starting with the free-to-enter public Fan Zone located beside the Norwegian Church. Open from Saturday 26 - 28 August it's a perfect spot to spectate the action whilst enjoying entertainment, a bar, street food stalls and expert live commentary of the racing. For the first time at Cardiff Harbour Festival, Saturday Night is live band Night, so head to the Fan Zone from 5pm to soak up the festival atmosphere on the decking of the Norwegian Church and move your feet to three great upbeat bands.

Younger guests can have a Whale of a time over on Britannia Park as the epic inflatable Whale is back! Climb inside a life size sea-creature and hear sea faring stories from a pirate and a mermaid who live in the whale's stomach. Over at the Senedd steps you can catch the likes of Captain Starfish's Freak Show or gasp as Felicity Footloose dances and juggles knives upside down in this brilliant street show. Don't miss the plastic fantastic Cling Film Guy who takes escapology to another level and for those adrenaline lovers the fantastic Inspire BMX will be in the Race Village all weekend.

Don't forget to hit the Landsea Square craft stalls for their last event of the summer, selling a diverse range of high quality goods to suit all pockets!

 

 

Roald Dahl Plass has been transformed as the Capital FM Cardiff Bay Beach presents an urban seaside setting with buckets full of fun on offer to entertain the kids with attractions including a giant child-friendly sandy beach, water play area, and a variety of popular funfair rides and games for all the family. With free live entertainment, great food and drink and traditional deck chairs to relax in, this is another festival must-see and on Sunday 27th at 8.30pm the beach will host a free cinema Moana.

 

Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, Cllr Peter Bradbury said: "Every year this fantastic event showcases Cardiff Bay at its very best. Whether you have a young family or you want to come and experience some incredible live sport, there really is something for everyone. With the addition of Saturday's live music at the Norwegian Church I am positive the atmosphere is going to be incredible.

 

"With less than a year until the Volvo Ocean Race arrives in the city, Cardiff Bay will be transformed into an international sporting hub. With a race village attracting thousands of visitors to the city this is set to be one of the biggest major sporting events to come to the Welsh capital and is one to be very excited about."

 

Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure Ken Skates, said: "The Cardiff Harbour Festival is proving to be a very popular event in the summer calendar and we look forward to welcoming Extreme Sailing back to Wales again for the sixth year. The event provides Cardiff with a global position alongside other premium worldwide venues and gives us the opportunity to promote Cardiff Bay internationally as a world class sailing and water sports venue.  This continues to stand us in good stead in attracting other international watersports events as we make preparations to celebrate the Year of the Sea in Wales when the Volvo Ocean Race visits Cardiff in 2018."