SAILGP is set to sweep back into Fremantle next year, with dates and an increase in seating announced Monday in the wake of this year’s sellout.
SailGP’s Perth event will again be held at Bathers Beach from February 20-21, 2027.
The Fremantle event will be the second stop on the SailGP calendar and the only SailGP event in Australia next year with Sydney missing out on another outing.
SailGP CEO and cofounder Russel Coutts said the fan response to this year’s sold-out event was “incredible”.
“Perth exceeded all expectations in 2026, and we are already looking forward to heading back there for our second event,” Sir Russell said.
“The teams loved it, the fans loved it, and we know that the conditions will produce spectacular racing; it’s a tailor-made SailGP venue.”
• Tourism minister Reece Whitby and Fremantle MLA Simone McGurk join sailing cost Ben Durham at the launch of the next SailGP leg in Fremantle.
The race stadium capacity is set to increase by 35 per cent, meaning there will be a projected 18,000 attendees inside the venue across the weekend.
This is compared to this year’s sell out which saw about 12,000 people through the gates.
What isn’t clear however, is if the black screens which obstructed views around the outside of the ticketed areas will make a return.
Minister for Tourism Reece Whitby said it’s a “commercial event” and ticket holders get “good value for money”.
“There’ll be some pricing structures around family parcels, which makes for some savings as well.
“This is a great event for Fremantle. It is a festival atmosphere in the town and that the rest of the community here enjoy that as well,” Mr Whitby said.
2027 will be the second outingof a three-year deal between SailGP and the WA government which Mr Whitby says he is keen to see continue.
However, Mr Whitby wasn’t as keen to reveal the cost it takes to build such a partnership, which he says is due to the competitive nature of the deal. He says the fact the first event sold-out and more people are likely to attend 2027’s event “indicates a very healthy return”.
“We make very sure that any investment has a greater return for our economy, this [SailGP] is certainly one of those events that gets a greater return for Western Australia,” Mr Whitby said.
Fresh of the back of a hattrick of wins in competition, most recently in New York, Bonds Flying Roos coach Ben Durham said he and the team were not only eager to return to Perth but to get one back over the Brits who won in Fremantle at the start of the year.
“We go to these fantastic places, but to actually bring that home to Perth and Fremantle, [it’s] really incredible to be able to get your friends and family along and actually see what we do.
“We really want to come back to Perth, and now really it is our home event, and we want to really set ourselves up the best we can to have a good chance of winning here,” he said.
Presale tickets for SailGP Perth go on sale June 18 with general public tickets on sale June 23.
by GUS CULLEN