The 2011/2012 Volvo Ocean Race is to finish in Galway, in July 2012,  the organisers have announced. The finish will be shortly before the hopening of the Galway Arts Festival.

The start will be in Alicante in Spain and the finish in Galway will include an in-port race for the first time – but no circumnavigation of the island as originally suggested.

Host ports are Spain’s Alicante, followed by Cape Town in South Africa, Abu Dhabi in the UAE, Sanya in China, New Zealand’s Auckland, Itajai in Brazil, Miami in Florida in the US, Portuguese capital Lisbon, Lorient in north-west France and Galway.

The race generated almost €60 million in revenue when it stopped in Ireland for the first time last year, attracting some 650,000 people to Galway.