El Gouna as the stage. Abu Tig as the fleet home. The Island as the heart of it — opening, village, gala.
International racing yachts, VIP vessels, and the local Red Sea fleet — all berthed together at a dedicated event area within Abu Tig Marina.
Edition 3 at full scale — what December looks like with El Gouna fully behind it. Five months out, the fleet is fixed; the audience is not. The ceiling is set by the backing.
El Gouna is the venue. The Island carries the ceremony. Abu Tig carries the fleet. El Gouna carries the evenings.
The racing draws the fleet. Two additions draw everyone else — and both are built with El Gouna, not just in it.
Three confirmed partners, one in discussion. Three categories open — to be filled through Orascom's commercial network.
In 2027, the America's Cup comes to Naples — the first Cup ever held in Italy, and the biggest stage sailing has had in the Mediterranean in a generation. Global luxury brands are moving onto the water ahead of it. December 2026 puts El Gouna on that arc — twelve months before the Match, one sea away.
Alfa Romeo is title sponsor of Luna Rossa at the first America's Cup ever held in Italy. Their marketing is built on shared adrenaline — the car, the yachts, the sailors, the fans, one story told from road to sea. That campaign peaks at Naples 2027. December 2026 is where it can touch the Red Sea first.
The hull and mainsail are the most photographed assets of a regatta. Every partner brand sails — across three days of racing, drone content, and the December campaign.
The May 2026 event, verified actuals.
From the December 2025 Red Sea Sailing Regatta in El Gouna — with two reels from the Somabay campaign. Tap any to play.
The commercial structure behind the event — what RSS asks of sponsors, and what Orascom's network can shop against. All packages can be structured for individual regattas or the full calendar, including the December flagship.
The cost structure of the December flagship — line items on the table, figures to be finalised together. Contributions can be financial, in-service, or barter; the sponsorship tiers carry part of it.
| Line Item | Estimate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Race Management & Operations | TBC | Race committee, marks and course, safety and support boats, timing and results |
| The Headline Night | TBC | Artist or DJ fee, stage, sound and light production · scale set by the act · co-produced with Orascom |
| The Charter Forum | TBC | Speaker travel and hosting — SuperYacht Times, European charter operators, invited brokers |
| Spectator Fleet | TBC | Four liveaboards across the racing days · VIP catamaran programme via FX Yachting & Felix |
| Hospitality & F&B | TBC | Race village, gala dinner, opening ceremony · partly within El Gouna venues |
| Branding & Print | TBC | Fleet livery, event identity, on-site branding, flags and signage |
| Event MC & Pre-Event Promotion | TBC | MC across all four days — proposed: Safi — plus campaign fronting in the build-up to December |
| Media & Content | TBC | Drone and on-water production, live race feed to El Gouna screens, campaign content |
| Prize Fund & Awards | TBC | Class prizes, trophies, awards ceremony |
| Contingency | TBC | Weather, logistics and operational reserve |
This is the host's side of it — six things from El Gouna. Red Sea Sails runs everything else: race programme, fleet coordination, and event operations. Every one of these scales: services, financing, or barter — the more El Gouna puts behind December, the bigger December gets.
Full-scale estimates in El Gouna's own units — rooms, covers, and a town on the water — across the event window.
| Need | Estimate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | ~200–250 rooms / night | ~300–400 guests needing hotels — sailors and crew, VIPs, forum speakers and brokers, officials, media, and travelling spectators · ~800–1,000 room nights over the window |
| Docking | ~20–25 berths | Racing fleet, VIP & super yachts, spectator liveaboards — plus visiting spectator yachts from Hurghada & Sharm El Sheikh · kept free for entrants; the value sits in rooms, covers and the town |
| The Island | ~300–400 standing | Opening, race-village evenings and gala — a combination space, mostly standing · seated gala ~200 |
| Headline Night | 1,500–2,000+ open | Dec 11 — live act on the waterfront, free and open to the town · scale set by the act and production El Gouna puts behind it |
| Race Village · Abu Tig | ~200–300 covers / day | Daily food & beverage across the three racing days — spectators, crews, forum guests |
| Gala Dinner | ~200 seated | Closing night — seated dinner and awards |
| El Gouna Restaurants | ~1,500–2,500 covers | Attendees dining across El Gouna venues over the event window |
The Offer
The event is ready, the fleet is set and the community is on standby. Five months of runway — the scale of December is the one decision left to make together.