Although it will be held between August and October 2024, the America's Cup will be a reality this summer. The six participating teams are starting the construction of their bases these days, distributed around Port Vell, so that they can train from July 1. It will be a contact, a year before the official regattas, which will serve to take the pulse of the waters and wind of the Catalan capital and which the organization wants to take advantage of to publicize this sporting event, which has been proposed that it is the most popular, open and accessible in its long history, which will add up to 173 years.
In addition to preparing the sporting event, ACE Barcelona, the local subsidiary responsible for the organization, works to seduce the people of Barcelona. Not surprisingly, it aspires to have at least 2,500 volunteers. In a certain way, it is about reviving the Olympic experience of 1992. It is also expected that the America's Cup will be a stimulus for the popular practice of sailing and for the boost of the blue economy from the city.
Yesterday marked one year since the announcement that the Catalan capital would host the 37th edition. Back then – and still today – many were not aware of the importance of hosting this competition, the third most covered by the media after the Olympic Games and the Football World Cup. Unlike these two major events and others, the America's Cup has a markedly popular character because it can be seen, on site, for free. Even for television rights, priority will be given to channels that broadcast open regattas. The previous edition, held in 2021 in Auckland (Australia), gathered 950 million people in front of the screens. Without a doubt, it will be a great global spot for Barcelona.
The Emirates Team New Zealand, defending the title, will be at the Barcelona pier, next to the World Trade Centre, where the press center and ACE Barcelona offices are located. The Challenger of Record (first challenger), Ineos Britannia, from the United Kingdom, will be located in the Old Port Marina, next to the Imax. The Swiss from Alinghi Red Bull Racing will stand where the Cinesa cinemas used to be, between L'Aquàrium and Maremagnum. The Italian team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, on the edge of the Nova Bocana, next to the Barcelona Nautic Centre. The American American Magic will be at Marina Barcelona 92, with access from Passeig Joan de Borbó. And the Orient Express Racing Team, from France, at Ponent pier, next to the Porta d'Europa drawbridge. The joint base of the women's and youth teams will be at the Xaloc pier of the Port Olímpic.
Barcelona's seafront will be the stage for a large stadium on the sea located just two hundred meters from the coastline. This is an advantage that the Catalan capital has over other places, where more distance is needed. The regattas will be able to be contested so close because the waters are deep enough. The competition area will extend between the Nova Bocana and the Port Olímpic, so that the tests can be followed from the beaches, docks and dikes, converted for the occasion into tribunes. Giant screens will be placed to facilitate the view of the boats and the information of the tests. It is estimated that these spaces could receive around three million people.
“One year on, we're really making progress on all fronts and it's exciting to see all the teams already operating at a very high level as they test and evaluate their training rigs before building their new AC75 for the competition at 2024", said Grant Dalton, chief executive of the organization, in a statement yesterday. The also director of the Emirates Team New Zealand, who will defend the title and described Barcelona as a "vibrant headquarters", reiterated the intention to seduce the people of Barcelona. "We want the public to get to know us, to get involved and to come to the Maritime Front", he said. For her part, Aurora Catà, executive vice-president of ACE Barcelona, highlighted in a meeting with the press the desire to "recover the Olympic spirit", which she sees as possible because "the values of the America's Cup, sustainability, diversity, inclusion and innovation, they are the same as our city".
The Race Village will be a central point of interest during the competition. It will open on August 22, 2024, the day on which the opening of this 37th edition will be celebrated and it will be open to visitors during the two months that the competition lasts. In the provisional calendar, October 27 has been set as the completion date. This site will occupy Moll de la Fusta and access will also be free, limited to capacity. It will be a point of dissemination of the competition and of connection with the participating boats and the bases of the teams. It will host all kinds of events, from gastronomic to musical. Classic boats are also scheduled to moor there.
Earlier this summer, in addition to following the training in the same area that will host the competition, Barcelona residents will be able to learn more about the event, which has held 36 editions since 1851, at the America's Cup Experience. It will be located in the Imax building, at the Spanish pier, which is being adapted. It will be a center dedicated to explaining the competition through the latest technologies, with immersive systems. The intention is to maintain it until January 2025 and receive 1.5 million visitors. The investment in this equipment is 4.6 million.
Work is also underway on the preparation of the preliminary regattas. The first will take place in Vilanova i la Geltrú, from September 14 to 17. The second, probably in Càller (Sardinia), in October. Both will be contested with monobucs with foils (hydrofoils) AC40, 11.80 meters long. The third will take place in Barcelona, from August 23 to 26, 2024, already with the AC75 (22.90 meters) with which the teams will compete in the Challenger Selection Series (Challenger Tournament) between August 31 and 6 of October, according to the provisional schedule, which will determine the opponent who will challenge Emirates Team New Zealand from 12 to 27 October. The Young America's Cup - sailors under the age of 25 - will start on September 19, 2024 and the final will be on October 2. The Women's America's Cup will start on October 3rd and end on the 16th. Both will have AC40 boats.
