Palawan is set to play host the eleventh Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series at the limestone rocks on Miniloc Island’s Bacuit Bay.
Rene Jay de la Calzada, El Nido municipal administrator, said the local government was delighted to host the event next month.
He also said the organisers of the event will install a prefabricated diving board made of sturdy bamboo poles on a rock platform that has a height of 27 metres.
The Redbull team will also arrange an air ambulance to be on hand along with a medical team should any accidents occur during the event on Saturday, April 13.
On its website, Red Bull said that El Nido was chosen as the venue due to its “dazzlingly clear emerald waters”.
It continued: “The towering limestone formations of the Small and Big lagoons on Miniloc Island, a forty-minute pump boat ride away from the town of El Nido, provide a magnificent backdrop for the season opener in mid-April.”
Among the 24 male and female professional cliff divers from 18 countries who are expected at the event are Rhiannan Iffland of Austria and Gary Hunt of Great Britain.
Red Bull said: “Round one and two will be held in the Small Lagoon, which is accessible through a gap between two giant limestone rocks that appear to be about to kiss each other.
“Through this little space, one can swim or kayak into the lagoon. It is actually these cliffs, and the rocks and corals in the shallow part of the area that temper the waves, protecting the water in the lagoon from any violent events in the open sea.
“For the more difficult optional dives, the athletes change to the Big Lagoon, frequently visited by sea turtles and kayakers. It is a bay carved into the island, with deep water and corals below pointed limestone cliffs.”
The event will be live-streamed on April 13 at 4.45pm local time on redbullcliffdiving.com, Red Bull TV, Facebook and YouTube.
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