Established in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race, the Volvo Ocean Race is a very demanding team sporting event. The 2008-09 expedition will be the 10th run of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain, on the 4th October, the race will span some 39,000 nautical miles, halting at 11 ports over a period of nine months. For the first time in the event's history, the race will look at visiting new ports along a new route that include ports in the middle-east, India and Asia. This is what brings the Volvo Ocean Race to Kochi.
The eight yachts will dock at Kochi on India’s coast, the first Asian port, from the 3rd to the 13th of December, before starting leg three to Sentosa Island in Singapore. The Cochin Port Trust will be responsible for organizing the stopover, with the full backing of the Kerala 
Tourism Department. A race village covering 2.5 acres of land will be set up near the BTP berth at Willingdon Island.
The Volvo XC90 will have a new Volvo Ocean Race car edition to commemorate the race. It can be specified in either the Ocean Blue livery in combination with exterior details in chrome or electric silver.
