The Clipper fleet’s arrival at 00.14GMT on Saturday became part of Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture 2008 celebrations and thousands of Liverpudlians, race supporters and friends and family of the crews lined the banks of the Mersey to welcome the yachts back home.

The iconic Albert Dock was the venue for the prizegiving ceremony and crowds thronged the colonnades as each of the top three teams overall was presented with their pennant by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Steve Rotheram. Third place went to the Scottish entry Glasgow: Scotland with Style Clipper, the only boat to be led by a female skipper, Hannah Jenner.

The Clipper Race is the brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who, in 1969, became the first man to sail solo non-stop around the world. In 1996, he created the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race to give ordinary people the opportunity to follow in his footsteps.

‘I said to you one thing before you set out,’ Sir Robin told the crews at the prizegiving. ‘At the end of this race I wanted you to be able to say, that’s the best thing I’ve done with my life – so far. I hope this has been the experience you hoped it would be.’

To date more than 1,400 people have become ocean racers by taking part in the Clipper Race and, of these, nearly 300 have achieved the rare accolade of becoming a circumnavigator by racing around the world under sail. Sixty-two new circumnavigators joined this exclusive club following the fleet’s arrival in Liverpool.

For the 10 sponsoring cities and territories, which also include Durban, Western Australia, Singapore, Qingdao, Jamaica and Nova Scotia, the benefits of the race including providing an international platform to promote their messages and brands to a global audience.

Along with the media opportunities, the Clipper Race also offers sponsors global trade openings and networking opportunities, pus inspirational stories that captivate readers and viewers around the world. More than 354.4m people worldwide will have seen coverage of Clipper 07-08, generating an undiscounted media value of US$56.85m for the sponsors, says Clipper Ventures.

The 10 part television series to accompany the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, produced by the event’s host broadcaster, Sunset+Vine I APP, is currently being shown by broadcasters around the world and others are preparing to show it in the coming months. Current listings can be found in the multimedia section of clipperroundtheworld.com

The next Clipper Race starts from Hull in July 2009.