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Lovers of the sea and sailing are in luck this year. From August to October, Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia and the Mediterranean, will be hosting the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup, the world's landmark sailing competition and oldest sporting event that was first held 174 years ago. If you enjoy the thrill of competitive sport, don't miss this matchless competition, where the boats literally fly to beat the rival crews in a nail-biting spectacle.
A vibrant city like Barcelona that loves the sea and sport deserves to be enjoyed to the full. Visit Barcelona Best Experiences and check out all the unique and unusual things there are to do. Discover the essence of Barcelona, its traditions and wonderful surrounding area, from the sea to the mountains.
And if you love the sea, maritime culture and water sports, the Barcelona Card Sea includes visits and activities so you can enjoy an ocean of sightseeing options in the city.
The America's Cup is considered the world's most important sailing competition. It is also the world's oldest sporting event (1851), and predates the modern Olympic Games, which began in 1896.
It is an international competition between sailing clubs from different countries, who vie with each other to secure the famous silver cup. The winning team keeps the trophy until it is challenged by another team and has to defend it in a new regatta.
It is named the America's Cup after the schooner America, which won the first regatta.
If you want to find out more about the competition and immerse yourself in its history, visit the official exhibition centre, the America's Cup Experience.
Six teams will be taking part in the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup:
All the bases for the participating teams are located in the Barcelona Port Vell area, along with the America's Cup Race Village. The bases for the women's and youth teams are situated in the Port Olímpic.
The boats used in the competition are AC75s, which include the latest technology, including foils that lift the boats out of the water, and attain speeds of over 50 knots (almost 100 km/h). This explains why they are known as the Formula 1s of the sea.
The Women's and Youth America's Cup events and training sessions will use another class of boat: the AC40, the younger brother of the AC75.
For the first time, the support vessels will be sustainable and powered by hydrogen.
At the Barcelona competition, the races can be followed from the beaches, as the race course will be located between the Port Vell and Port Olímpic. There's also a race village in the Port Vell along the Moll de la Fusta, connecting people to the boats, team bases and the event. Admission is free.
This year's competition will also include the Unicredit Youth America's Cup and, for the first time in the history of the competition, the Puig Women's America's Cup, both of them using smaller, AC40 boats. The twelve teams in these two categories will be based at the Port Olímpic.
A Spanish crew, SailTeamBCN, will also be taking part and competing in the Women's and Youth competitions. For the first time, a behind-the-scenes documentary series will be filmed to showcase the day-to-day lives of the teams and their progress throughout the competition.
The Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup will begin on 22nd August 2024. It will consist of different events, leading up to the America's Cup Match, or final duel, in October. You can see the impressive boats training just metres from the city's beaches.
The preliminary regattas are held in preparation for the Challenger Selection Series, which decides which team will go forward to face the defenders, or current holders of the cup, Emirates Team New Zealand. The unique format of the America's Cup means that the defendant automatically has the right to compete in the America's Cup Match final, while the challengers hold a series of regattas to decide the best team who will face the New Zealanders.
The Unicredit Youth America's Cup and the Puig Women's America's Cup will feature representatives of the six AC teams with six guest teams. Only six of them will qualify for the Final Series, and the two best teams will compete in the final to decide the winner.
Save the following dates for the America's Cup and don't miss out on a single detail of the competition.
Barcelona is a city that loves sport and the sea. It is also a city with long-standing experience in organising and hosting some of the world's highest-profile sporting events, such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games It now has the honour of welcoming the America's Cup.
