Barcelona to Host 37th America’s Cup in 2024

Emirates Team New Zealand and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron are pleased to announce Barcelona, in the region of Catalonia as the Host Venue for the 37th America’s Cup to be held in September and October of 2024.

A mixture of history and modernity, Barcelona is one of the most iconic and attractive cities in the world and will become the first venue in the world to host both an Olympic Games and an America’s Cup event. 

America’s Cup Defender Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton is delighted to announce Barcelona as the Host Venue after a long and competitive venue selection process. “Barcelona really is one of the most recognised cities in the world so to have the ability to host the most recognised 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 metres 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 alignment with the America’s Cup is clear. Its existing world class facilities for racing, team bases, technical infrastructure, superyachts, and areas for the America’s Cup event village to host fans, hospitality, and media as well as an average wind range of 9-15 knots during the September and October race window, made the city completely fit for purpose.

Barcelona’s bid saw an unprecedented alliance across public and private entities working together to attract the America’s Cup to Barcelona which included the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council, City Hall of Barcelona, Port of Barcelona, Barcelona Global’s investment agency 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.

The president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Pere Aragonés, explained that the celebration of the America's Cup in Barcelona is excellent news for the city and for the whole country, "It is an historic sporting event, which has a great projection worldwide at an international level, economically and for tourism,” he says. “The America’s Cup is not just an isolated sporting activity and offers significantly more than that to the Host Venue. It is an event that it will generate a return across many platforms over years and will leave a very important legacy for Catalonia. I am very satisfied because for the first time, the America’s Cup will also include a specific Women’s America’s Cup regatta in Barcelona.”

The Mayor of the city of Barcelona, Ada Colau, celebrated the election of Barcelona as the venue for the 37th edition of the America's Cup, the oldest sailing race, "It is great news for Barcelona! This should serve to promote the city to the world after the pandemic, to benefit Barcelona’s tradition of this sport in a city by the sea and in addition, to boost the emerging sector of innovation and technology, linked to nautical activities. I want to thank all the public and private institutions for their support and complicity in this project”.

Damiá Calvet, the president of the Port of Barcelona, an integral part of the successful Barcelona bid, said "We have made Port Vell available to the city and the country to be able to celebrate an America's Cup that projects Barcelona to the world and that has innovation and sustainability as its flagship. We will make the most of the infrastructures that we already have, we will boost the economy and employment and finally, we will leave an enduring legacy".