SailGP has confirmed it has cancelled its New Zealand Sail Grand Prix Christchurch event.

The decision comes after SailGP’s application for access to Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) facilities for its teams and staff to enter New Zealand ahead of the inaugural event, scheduled to be held January 29-30 2022, was declined by.

Outgoing ChristchurchNZ CEO Joanna Norris said “ChristchurchNZ and SailGP worked hard to bring SailGP racing to Lyttelton Harbour.

“The event is world-class and would have delivered significant benefits to Christchurch and New Zealand and we are naturally disappointed that the January 2022 fixture has had to be cancelled due to issues beyond either of our control.”

“We are now working hard to negotiate a future partnership so the benefits to Christchurch of hosting SailGP are delayed rather than lost. We are confident that SailGP is supportive of bringing the event to Christchurch in future seasons.”

Christchurch City Council Head of Parks Andrew Rutledge said contractor Fulton Hogan is back working at Naval Point, following a short halt due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“Phase one of the Naval Point Development Plan is still on track to be completed by the end of November this year.”