Blackpool wins Beach Volleyball European Tour event
10th December 2007Blackpool has won its bid to host the English Masters of the NESTEA European Championship Tour in Beach Volleyball, which will feature teams who have come straight from competing at the Olympic Games in Beijing. The English Masters 2008 will take place on September 11-14.
The European Tour around the European Championships, which was established in 2003, visits six countries each year so competition to host an event is fierce. Blackpool's successful bid means it joins an exclusive group of European locations which will host the prestigious Tour in 2008.
The event, put on by VisitBlackpool and supported by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), has also received support from the English Volleyball Association. The tournament will feature up to 60 male and 60 female top-quality teams from across Europe, including Britain's top pairings. Significantly more than 100 hours of TV footage of the event will be broadcast across more than 180 countries worldwide.
Initial planning is already underway for the English Masters, which will take place on four purpose-built competition courts on Blackpool's newly reconstructed promenade against the backdrop of Blackpool’s world-famous Illuminations which will coincide with the event.
The winning of the bid comes on the back of a successful 2007 FIVB International Exhibition Tournament in Beach Volleyball which was held in September in a purpose-built 1,000 seat arena on Blackpool's iconic promenade. It was the first international Beach Volleyball tournament ever to be held in the UK under floodlights.
Commented English Volleyball Association President, Richard Callicott: “We are absolutely delighted that Blackpool is to stage this prestigious event. To have England included in the annual European tour sends a very positive message to the international volleyball community in the run up to the London Olympic Games in 2012”.
Cllr Maxine Callow, Blackpool's Cabinet member for Tourism and Regeneration said: "Following the outstanding success of Blackpool's first International Beach Volleyball competition this year, we are absolutely delighted to learn that our bid to host this prestigious International sporting event has been successful. We look forward to welcoming players and officials from all over Europe to Blackpool next September."
Peter Mearns, Executive Director of Marketing at the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), said: “It’s great that the English Masters tournament will be held in Blackpool and is testament to Blackpool’s recent success in hosting the International Beach Volleyball tournament in September. The NWDA is investing £3.5million in Blackpool over three years to fund a unique programme of significant events such as this tournament which will attract visitors, boost business and showcase Blackpool as an attractive international resort for leisure and for major events.”
Blackpool will also host the English Masters of the 2009 NESTEA European Championship Tour and hopes to successfully bid for a FIVB World Tour event in the future.