THIS summer’s Spirit of the Sea festival has been officially launched by two Weymouth Olympic sailing heroes.

After the success of the inaugural event last year organisers estimate the nine-day festival brought in around £1.5million for the local economy through the 33 events carried out at 22 venues across Weymouth and Portland.

This year’s event will run from July 4 to 12 and the action-packed event celebrates the area’s sporting activities, cultural events and entertainment.

Roy Griffiths, event manager, said: “There are many ways in which businesses can get involved either on a passive or pro-active way.

“They can get involved through either sponsorship, organising an event of their own or exhibiting at an existing event that matches the profile of their business.

“Phone calls come in just about every day with a new idea or event for Spirit from organisations and businesses inspired by the benefits of linking in to Spirit of the Sea and the additional publicity it generates.”

The launch at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy was attended by Olympic stars Nick and Sarah Dempsey, local businesses and residents.

Organisers said that the analysis of the public relations campaign alone shows that there were around 33 million opportunities to gain information about festival through TV coverage, newspaper and magazine coverage, radio and through the website which achieved over 35,500 page views.

Gary Fooks, Spirit chairman, said: “Many businesses throughout Dorset are still searching for ways to benefit from the forthcoming 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Spirit of the Sea is positioned as a major 2012 legacy project and provides businesses of all kinds many opportunities to benefit from the additional publicity and energy generated by this fantastic event.”

For more information on the festival contact 01305 785747.