City set to benefit as 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea route revealed

Those specialising in food, drink, hospitality and accommodation are especially well positioned to benefit from the business generated by IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea (July 16) and the 2023 World Triathlon Para Series (WTPS) Swansea on July 15.

The weekend is estimated to be worth around £2.5m to the local economy.

Last year news, photos and videos from the IRONMAN 70.3 event attracted around 23.5m online views.

This July it will - once again - attract thousands of athletes and spectators, offering a great day out for visitors and local people.

The new IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea route has just been announced (note: wc April 25), amended from last year to take into account public feedback from the 2022 event.

The return of the event itself was announced seven months ago; it'll feature swimming in SA1, running along the city seafront and cycling from the city and through parts of scenic Gower.

Some roads will be temporarily closed but organisers continue to work with local people, business and organisations to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum.

Craig Bennallack, manager of the city centre Dolphin SA1 Hotel, said: "We're already almost full for the night before IRONMAN 70.3 - and I'm confident we'll be full that night.

"I also hope that the tourism attracted by the event will help the food and drink side of our business. I'm expecting a good Saturday at the very least!

"We're pleased that Swansea has high-quality events of this nature - they help get the message out that we're a welcoming city with lots to offer the visitor."

The Dolphin SA1, in the city centre, is a boutique hotel.

Like other city centre hotels, it's close to key attractions such as the Swansea.com Stadium, The National Waterfront Museum, SA1 Waterfront, Mumbles and Gower.

Kate Bowen, manager of the city centre Morgans Hotel, said: "We're really excited about this year's IRONMAN 70.3 in Swansea.

"Some of the amazing action will take place very close to the hotel and we're working with the event organisers so we can offer something really lovely for athletes and spectators. Watch this space!"

Council cabinet member Robert Francis-Davies said: "We want to inspire local people to compete in sport and to enjoy it in other ways too.

"We're delighted that these events - including the week-long Disability Sport Wales' Para Sport Festival - are returning.

"Our unique week of sport provide opportunities for - and features competitors with - a wide range of abilities right up to world-class level.

"Last year it was a great success for athletes, supporters, local businesses and residents. It saw Olympic, Paralympic, World and Commonwealth champions all racing in Swansea.

"We'll continue to work with the event organisers to ensure that local people and businesses have every chance to plan for and to enjoy the week.

"We've listened to local feedback and, as a result, the events will take place outside of the school holidays and the IRONMAN 70.3 route has been amended in line with public feedback.

"We're grateful to householders, businesses and others in the event locations for their understanding."

Spectator hotspots for this year's IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea will be announced soon.

Last year's Swansea event won plaudits in the recent IRONMAN Global Athlete Choice awards. It was named the best running course experience for Europe, Middle East and Africa - and fourth best in the world. It scored highly in categories such as best bike course and best venue.

IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea race director Rebecca Sutherland said: "Following the outstanding success of last year's IRONMAN 70.3 event in Swansea, we are tremendously excited for another triathlon-packed weekend this July.

"Over 2,000 triathletes, including a host of elite female and male professionals, will be visiting the area and throughout the race weekend will experience the best scenery, hospitality, and atmosphere which Swansea and the surrounding area has to offer.

"It promises to be an exceptional event and I hope as many local residents as possible can come down to be part of it."

WTPS Swansea race director Laura Carton said: "The whole weekend promises to be a fantastic few days of swim, bike, run, starting with the World Triathlon Para Series on the Saturday.

"Last year's inaugural event was a huge success, and we can't wait to return to the city this summer on a route we will be revealing soon. We hope as many people as possible will come and show their support and enjoy what the event and the city have to offer."

Key info:

• IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea, including the route- www.bit.ly/IM703s23
• 2023 World Triathlon Para Series Swansea - www.bit.ly/WTPS2023
• IRONMAN 70.3 road changes and other info - www.visitswanseabay.com/ironman-70-3-swansea/

More:

• Dolphin SA1 - www.dolphin-sa1.com
• Morgans - www.morganshotel.co.uk

FAQs

Q Will this mean temporary road closures on the weekend of July 15-16, 2023?

A Yes. They're being publicised well in advance - starting with IRONMAN 70.3 - so that householders and businesses across Swansea and Gower can plan ahead. The council has discussed this with the event organisers and the thoughts of local communities have been taken into account. The sports weekend brings economic benefits and spectator opportunities to our local area and we're grateful to householders, businesses and others in the event locations for their understanding.

Q Isn't the Wales Airshow due to be held only two weeks before the 2023 World Triathlon Para Series Swansea and IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea?

A Yes. The airshow is on July 1-2, the sports weekend will be July 15-16. Both bring economic benefits and spectator opportunities to our local area and both are being widely publicised well in advance - as will the temporary road changes for each weekend. We're grateful to householders, businesses and others in the event locations for their understanding.

Q Can Swansea cope with the changes to everyday life that these events bring?

A Yes - by listening to local communities, planning well in advance, working with top-quality partners and by using the council's own events expertise. It's important that Swansea has a strong events calendar - it helps makes the city an attractive place to live and a destination for visitors to come and boost our local economy.

Q Why do we need a whole week of sport?

A Apart from helping continue to promote Swansea as a major sporting venue, the council wants to inspire local people of all abilities to take part in healthy activities in ways that they themselves best enjoy. Hundreds of them will take part in July 2023's Disability Sport Wales' Para Sport Festival, 2023 World Triathlon Para Series Swansea and IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea. As with last year, thousands will enjoy the events as spectators. We also see the events as bringing economic benefits to the area; the 2022 week brought good business for accommodation providers and others in the hospitality industry.

Q How do you know the 2023 week will be a success?

A The people of Swansea enjoy special events - as seen by the Wales Airshow, Christmas Parade, the annual seafront fireworks display and the Singleton Park gigs. In August 2022, the residents of Swansea and Gower turned out in their thousands to enjoy this spectacular weekend of sport. People and organisations took the two major new events to their hearts - and accepted some changes to daily life necessary to stage the activity safely.

Q Aren't there too many challenges for the local community when these events are held?

A We thank residents and businesses for their patience and understanding as they make changes to their day-to-day lives. We do appreciate that road closures cause some temporary disruption to normal daily routines when the events are taking place. But they're important to make such events as safe as possible for all involved and local residents. Bringing top class sport and other events to any location has its challenges but the council is determined to give the people of this area big programmes of major events. They give local people great things to see and do - and they boost the local economy in a substantial way. In August 2022 we hosted a big weekend of international sport and it shone a global spotlight on Swansea as a destination. We'll continue to do all we can to attract top-class sporting events to Swansea on a regular basis to boost tourism and the visitor economy.