It is an unprecedented alliance that has determined Barcelona as the host venue for the 37th America’s Cup, to be held in September and October 2024. Numerous public and private entities have worked together for this result, including the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council, Barcelona City Hall, the Port of Barcelona, the investment agency Barcelona Global and Barcelona & Partners, a non-profit initiative composed of more than 200 of the city’s leading institutions aiming to make Barcelona one of the world’s best cities for talent and economic activity.
After a long and competitive selection process, the announcement comes from the very voice of Grant Dalton, CEO of Emirates Team New Zealand, Defender of the America’s Cup.
“Barcelona really is one of the most recognized cities in the world so to have the ability to host the most recognized sailing event in the world is hugely exciting. As Defender of the America’s Cup, we have always felt the responsibility to grow the event, the audience, and the sport of sailing on a global scale and certainly having the event hosted in a significant city such as Barcelona will allow us to propel the growth trajectory on the global sporting stage. When thinking ahead to the 37th America’s Cup and the AC75’s racing within a few hundred of the Barcelona beach, waterfront, and race village fan engagement zones it will be nothing less than spectacular”.
Barcelona is a leading city in terms of sustainability and social impact with ambitions to become Europe’s digital and tech capital, so the convergence with the America’s Cup is very clear. The existing facilities are already of international standard, perfectly suited to hosting races team bases, boats and technical infrastructure. The areas of the America’s Cup village are also ideal for hosting both the fans and the media who will arrive in large numbers from all over the world.
Barcelona has also been chosen as the venue for the 37th America’s Cup because of the consistency of the breezes in September and October, when the wind always blows at an average of 9 to 15 knots, ideal for sailing and for the AC75s to perform at their best.
By hosting this event Barcelona will also become the only city in the world to have hosted both the Olympic Games and an America’s Cup event.