With a new title sponsor, the Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup brought more than 10,000 people over five days of events ending Sunday.
The luxury Italian car company was incorporated into several aspects of the tournament, starting with its logo etched in the sand of the beach polo field. Maserati vehicles also led a parade of polo players astride their horses through the streets of South Beach. The player parade happens every year, but organizers moved it from Thursday to Saturday to take advantage of bigger crowds and create more buzz, said Lacey Abbott of ACT Productions, which planned the event.
On the tournament grounds, invited guests could relax in a V.I.P. tent from EventStar featured an open bar and a different caterer each day. Sponsors decorated suites within the tent, such as Ciroc vodka’s Peach Lounge, which served polo-inspired cocktails.
Other sponsors new to the tournament this year include Bulgari, Lufthansa Private Jet, Heys USA Group, and Triumph Motorcycles. Don Miguel Gascón, a returning sponsor, increased its involvement this year, Abbott said, making beach polo a major marketing platform for the winery. La Martina and Esquire magazine also were returning sponsors.
The tournament also included a number of private events. At host The Raleigh Hotel, events included a welcome and cocktail hour for the women's tournament, a player unveiling, a kick-off party featuring a La Martina fashion show, and the closing party. On Friday, Bulgari and Maserati debuted the Octo Maserati watch at a private event The Setai hotel, and Saturday was a fund-raiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters with fashion show by Blank Silk by Meghan Walsh at The Perry South Beach hotel rooftop.
Although bad weather Sunday cancelled the final day of match play, Abbott said that just meant the parties started earlier.
