First week of July, Marstrand is transformed into a boiling kettle of the world’s best sailors, artists, vacationing families and the top notch of the business society. Match Cup Sweden has become Sweden’s largest international sailing event and one of the very hottest summer places.

2007, Match Cup Sweden was given the official World championship status, as one of the ten stages of the WC-series World Match Racing Tour. At the same time, the event management company Brandspot entered a long term agreement with GKSS as commercially responsible for the event. GKSS still owns the event name and is responsible for the sports arrangements during the championship.

This year's event will feature the highest ranked sailors in the world, 14 male teams in the Open class and eight female top teams in the Women's class. Four top Swedish skippers and teams are entered, last year's winner Mattias Rahm, the winner 2007 Björn Hansen, Magnus Holmberg, founder of the event 1994, and Johnie Berntsson.

Even tough we are in the middle of an economic crunch, basically all sponsors from 2007 have chosen to continue their engagement in Match Cup Sweden, and one of the partners, Onico, has stepped up to become the event's Trophy Sponsor.

Entering 2009, the event area has been thoroughly developed an is more focused at Södra Strandverket and the regatta harbour, from the bridge which is holding the match racing boats.

CORPORATE MEETING SPOT

Marstrand has become the new meeting spot for Sweden’s leading corporations and their clients. Some 6 500 corporate guests have been invited to Match Cup Sweden and the different arenas where the sponsors will host meetings, among them the Business Lounge with a first class view of the racing arena. The well known and awarded tavern-keeper, Mats Nordström and his Wasa Allé in Gothenburg, hosts of the West coast inspired catering.
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The media interest is very high. Last year 69 Swedish and international journalists, photograpers, radio and TV-teams covered the event. Swedish TV Channel 8 is broadcasting the seminar Corporate Event Marketing Forum. The Swedish television, SVT Sport, TV4 as well as International TV broadcasted from the event. Some 650 000 000 people around the world can watch the broadcasts from Marstrand and Match Cup Sweden.

“We are very proud and pleased that the event that GKSS founded in 1994 further has strengthened its position as one of the best match racing events in the world”, says Peter Klock, managing director at GKSS.

“Our goal is to establish Match Cup Sweden as one of the very large international events in Sweden, together with our athletes and strong sponsoring companies”, Jan Torstenson, managing director at Brandspot concludes.