200 Surfers from 13 Nations expected at the Ocean Spirit Festival in Santa Cruz, Portugal

Surf’s up in Santa Cruz three years after the last Eurosurf and after two years of pandemic that shut down sporting events all over the world. Today, surfing is officially back with the press conference that launched the event that will light up the waves in Santa Cruz from the 15th to the 24th of July. The ceremony took place in one of the most prestigious hotels in this surfing capital and was presided by local Mayor, Laura Rodrigues. João Aranha, the Portuguese surfing federation president and ESF representative was also present, along with other local officials.

Thirteen countries answered ESF's call to come to Santa Cruz, in a total of 200 surfers that will compete in shortboard surfing and longboarding in what will be the main event of the Ocean Spirit Festival. An enterprise that also involves music and other sports with the ocean as a common denominator.

João Aranha, as the ESF representative, expects a great comeback of surfing to Portuguese waves:

“It’s the return after three years of absence of any kind of event. The European Surfing federation is very optimistic with this return to action. And this event also highlights a whole new phase of European surfing. All national federations have been working hard to qualify to the Olympics and as a consequence of this work, everyone has evolved very much. So, the gap between countries like France, Portugal and Spain and other less developed countries regarding their surfing potential has diminished noticeably, making the European surfing scene even more competitive.”

So, all the pieces are falling into place and the show will start, from July 15th to 24th.

Follow all the action live from the beach here at www.eurosurfing.org!