The 2018 Dakar Rally will attract over 1.5 million spectators in Peru, according to an estimate announced by the Peruvian Minister of Foreign Commerce and Tourism Eduardo Ferreyros.
About 90 per cent of the audience will be Peruvian, while the remaining 10 percent will be foreigners, mainly from Chile, Brazil and France, Ferreyros said on Thursday, reports Xinhua news agency.
The attendance estimate includes visitors to the Dakar Village Fair, an outdoor festival organised near where the rally starts, which is expected to attract more than 150,000 visitors in three days, and spectators during the six stages of the race held within Peru.
On its way to Bolivia and then Argentina, the Dakar Rally will pass through the Peruvian regions of Lima, Ica, Arequipa and Puno, where the competitors will pass by the western shore of the world's highest navigable lake Titicaca at 3,800 metres above sea level.
In addition to the Dakar Village, which will feature giant screens, official items stores, virtual reality experiences and official vehicle exhibitions, there will also be two other similar fairs in the cities of Pisco (Ica) and Puno.
The Dakar Rally is scheduled to begin on January 6 from Lima with over 337 vehicles competing in the event and will travel over 9,000 km to its finish point in Cordoba, Argentina on January 20.
--IANS
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