THE LARGEST SAILING RACE IN THE WORLD
Trieste, 1 - 12 October 2025
Trieste, 1 - 12 October 2025
26.09.25
Videoprojection Experience to highlight the wonder of the deep sea presently by Schmidt Ocean Institute and Deep Blue Racing Team
Barcolana once again brings innovation and surprise: thanks to important partnerships, the 2025 edition features a major multimedia event that places sustainability and ocean protection at the very heart of the regatta. From October 9 to 11, the façade of Trieste’s City Hall in Piazza Unità d’Italia – the largest square in Europe overlooking the sea – will be transformed in a window into the Ocean through a spectacular high-quality video mapping show, a “videoprojection experience” presented by Schmidt Ocean Institute and the Deep Blue Racing Team. The show, scheduled every evening from 8:00 pm to 11:30 pm with performances every 45 minutes, will showcase the beauty and wonder of the ocean with stunning images from the surface to depths reaching 4500 meters and marine creatures, accompanied in some editions by narration in both Italian and English by actors Claudio Santamaria and Greta Scarano.
The project is made possible thanks to the initiatives of American philanthropist Wendy Schmidt through her foundations and organizations committed to raising awareness on ocean protection – particularly the Schmidt Ocean Institute – alongside the engagement of the Deep Blue Racing Team, which together support Barcolana’s environmental mission.
The video mapping has been entrusted to the prestigious Milan-based agency Piano B, which for the first time brings to Barcolana an immersive and educational experience of this scale.
“Wendy Schmidt’s victory in Barcolana in 2022 was only the beginning,” said Mitja Gialuz, President of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. “Today, thanks to her support, her foundations, and the commitment of many organizations, we are able to build a path that allows us year after year to reach more people and work together for the safeguard of the sea. This immersive video mapping is both a dream come true and a goal achieved: we had long hoped to use this form of language, and today it finally becomes reality.”
ALL BARCOLANA ACTIVITIES
OCTOBER 2 – Launch of the educational kit “A Regatta for the Ocean”
The first educational kit for primary schools involving Barcolana, created by WWF AMP Miramare with the support of Wendy Schmidt,11th Hour Racing and Deep Blue Racing Team. This educational game takes students and teachers on a journey across the oceans with an international crew of sailors, delivering scientific knowledge and a clear message: protecting the sea is essential. On October 2, the project will be presented to the press and to teachers who will then adopt it as a teaching tool.
OCTOBER 4–12 – Deep Blue Exploration Zone and the whale skeleton
The multimedia pavilion “Deep Blue Exploration Zone” returns to Piazza Unità, supported by Wendy Schmidt, Schmidt Ocean Institute, and 11th Hour Racing, in collaboration with Barcolana. After the success of 2024 (over 10,000 visitors), this new edition offers an immersive journey with large-scale LED walls, 3D headsets, and 360° videos showcasing the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s discoveries and the biodiversity of the Gulf of Trieste. The upper floor will host, for the first time, the skeleton of the Muggia whale, recovered by WWF AMP Miramare, together with an educational pathway and a contest inviting visitors to choose its name. The space will be dedicated to schools in the morning, and to the general public in the afternoon and evening.
OCTOBER 6–7 – Cetaceans of the Adriatic
A public conference on October 6 at Sala Luttazzi will be organized by WWF AMP Miramare with the support of 11th Hour Racing, and the Deep Blue Racing Team, together with the Trieste Port Authority. Dedicated to the large pelagic animals of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic, it will address research, citizen science, and conservation, providing sailors and sea enthusiasts with the knowledge to recognize cetaceans and other marine mammals increasingly frequenting the Upper Adriatic. The same content, with a more technical approach, will form part of a professional training course for maritime workers on October 6 and 7.
OCTOBER 8–10 – Barcolana Sea Summit
WWF AMP Miramare, with the support of Wendy Schmidt, 11th Hour Racing, and the Deep Blue Racing Team, will also play a central role in the Barcolana Sea Summit, with conferences and guided visits. Thanks to Wendy Schmidt, the United World College of the Adriatic will also participate, bringing its innovative educational models into the Summit. Special guest Jessica Battle (WWF International) will present the global campaign for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, already endorsed by governments, scientific bodies, and major corporations.
OCTOBER 9–11 – An Ocean’s Song”
The “videoprojection experience” presented by Schmidt Ocean Institute and the Deep Blue Racing Team. The show, scheduled every evening from 8:00 pm to 11:30 pm with performances every 45 minutes, will showcase the beauty and wonder of the ocean with stunning images from the surface to depths reaching 4500 meters and marine creatures, accompanied in some editions by narration in both Italian and English by Claudio Santamaria and Greta Scarano.
The project is made possible thanks to the initiatives of American philanthropist Wendy Schmidt through her foundations and organizations committed to raising awareness on ocean protection – particularly the Schmidt Ocean Institute – alongside the engagement of the Deep Blue Racing Team, which together support Barcolana’s environmental mission.
The video mapping has been entrusted to the prestigious Milan-based agency Piano B, which for the first time brings to Barcolana an immersive and educational experience of this scale.
“Wendy Schmidt’s victory in Barcolana in 2022 was only the beginning,” said Mitja Gialuz, President of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. “Today, thanks to her support, her foundations, and the commitment of many organizations, we are able to build a path that allows us year after year to reach more people and work together for the safeguard of the sea. This immersive video mapping is both a dream come true and a goal achieved: we had long hoped to use this form of language, and today it finally becomes reality.”
ALL BARCOLANA ACTIVITIES
OCTOBER 2 – Launch of the educational kit “A Regatta for the Ocean”
The first educational kit for primary schools involving Barcolana, created by WWF AMP Miramare with the support of Wendy Schmidt,11th Hour Racing and Deep Blue Racing Team. This educational game takes students and teachers on a journey across the oceans with an international crew of sailors, delivering scientific knowledge and a clear message: protecting the sea is essential. On October 2, the project will be presented to the press and to teachers who will then adopt it as a teaching tool.
OCTOBER 4–12 – Deep Blue Exploration Zone and the whale skeleton
The multimedia pavilion “Deep Blue Exploration Zone” returns to Piazza Unità, supported by Wendy Schmidt, Schmidt Ocean Institute, and 11th Hour Racing, in collaboration with Barcolana. After the success of 2024 (over 10,000 visitors), this new edition offers an immersive journey with large-scale LED walls, 3D headsets, and 360° videos showcasing the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s discoveries and the biodiversity of the Gulf of Trieste. The upper floor will host, for the first time, the skeleton of the Muggia whale, recovered by WWF AMP Miramare, together with an educational pathway and a contest inviting visitors to choose its name. The space will be dedicated to schools in the morning, and to the general public in the afternoon and evening.
OCTOBER 6–7 – Cetaceans of the Adriatic
A public conference on October 6 at Sala Luttazzi will be organized by WWF AMP Miramare with the support of 11th Hour Racing, and the Deep Blue Racing Team, together with the Trieste Port Authority. Dedicated to the large pelagic animals of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic, it will address research, citizen science, and conservation, providing sailors and sea enthusiasts with the knowledge to recognize cetaceans and other marine mammals increasingly frequenting the Upper Adriatic. The same content, with a more technical approach, will form part of a professional training course for maritime workers on October 6 and 7.
OCTOBER 8–10 – Barcolana Sea Summit
WWF AMP Miramare, with the support of Wendy Schmidt, 11th Hour Racing, and the Deep Blue Racing Team, will also play a central role in the Barcolana Sea Summit, with conferences and guided visits. Thanks to Wendy Schmidt, the United World College of the Adriatic will also participate, bringing its innovative educational models into the Summit. Special guest Jessica Battle (WWF International) will present the global campaign for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, already endorsed by governments, scientific bodies, and major corporations.
OCTOBER 9–11 – An Ocean’s Song”
The “videoprojection experience” presented by Schmidt Ocean Institute and the Deep Blue Racing Team. The show, scheduled every evening from 8:00 pm to 11:30 pm with performances every 45 minutes, will showcase the beauty and wonder of the ocean with stunning images from the surface to depths reaching 4500 meters and marine creatures, accompanied in some editions by narration in both Italian and English by Claudio Santamaria and Greta Scarano.
