Round the Island Race is to host the biggest ever official race village on Cowes Parade

Round the Island Race is to host the biggest ever official race village on Cowes Parade © Paul Wyeth / www.pwpictures.com

Live music, children's entertainment, food and drink will attract young and old as the countdown to the 'race for all' begins

The world-famous sailing event, the Round the Island Race, is due to take place on Saturday 29th June, and this year Cowes Parade is going to play host to a bigger official race village than ever before. The village is to feature a packed entertainment schedule including live music and children's entertainment, as well as an array of food, drink and other stalls.

Sailors from around the world have only days left to enter the famous Round the Island Race that will see up to 1,500 boats participating, with sailors able to chart the course around the Isle of Wight with iconic views of the fleet and coastal scenery. The race starts from Cowes at 0730 and ends in Cowes with the leading competitors taking under 4 hours to complete it. Overall nearly 200 prizes are available at the event, with boats of every shape and size competing to win individual class and overall trophies.

Participants and spectators can gather on Cowes Parade where this year's official race village will have a larger bar stocked with popular drinks such as Amstel, Moretti, Pimms and Prosecco 1754. Live music can be enjoyed throughout the whole weekend and include performances from Essence of Mowtown and Britain's Got Talent's Derek Sandy. Children will also be able to enjoy entertainment from Randini the Magician.

A broad selection of food will be available from stalls including Nomad Street Food, Frostbite Bakery, Vegan Boys and the Isle of Wight Proper Burger Co. Stands from this year's race partners Helly Hansen, Raymarine and Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, will also be present on the parade.

Race Village opening times:
Friday 28th June 12:00 - 23:00
Saturday 29th June 07:00 - 23:00
Sunday 30th June 09:00 - 15:00

With such a large number of participants, marina space in Cowes fills up fast, so one of the official race sponsors, Chelsea Magazines, has collated its top recommendations on berthing options for race day which include local swing moorings off Cowes, as well as berths at Island Harbour Marina, Folly Reach Pontoon, Royal Victoria and others. Further information on berthing options is available at the Yachts and Yachting website here.

The Round the Island Race will be continuing to support The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust as its official race charity, which raises funds to help young people rebuild their lives after cancer treatment. Other race partners include Helly Hansen, Raymarine and MS Amlin.

Commodore of the Island Sailing Club, David Atkinson said: "We are proud to have received a record number of entries into the Round the Island Race within 24 hours of entries first opening and we hope that more families and first-time sailors are inspired to sign up in the remaining days until entries close.

"One of the main reasons that the race has a reputation as a world-renowned event is because it truly is a race for all. The Round the Island Race is on many sailor's bucket list and we regularly find that, once tried, sailors return year after year as it is such a unique race."

Sailors interested in participating in the event will be able to keep up to date with the latest news on social media using the hashtag #raceforall and will be able to enter online on the Round the Island Race website: www.roundtheisland.org.uk until midnight on Saturday 15th June.

Other information can be requested from the team at the Island Sailing Club on .