Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Barcelona

WHAT IS THE AMERICA'S CUP?

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.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS AND BASES

Six teams will be taking part in the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup:

Defenders:

• Emirates Team New Zealand (New Zealand), the current holders of the title, will be representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and defending the title.

Teams competing to get to the final and face the defenders, the Emirates Team New Zealand:

• INEOS Britannia (United Kingdom)
• Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland)
• Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Italy)
• American Magic New York Yacht Club (United States)
• Orient Express Racing Team (France)

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.

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DID YOU KNOW...

• The American team won the first America's Cup in 1851, and held onto the trophy for 133 years, until 1983, when Australia made a successful challenge and the Americans lost the competition for the first time.
• There is only one winner. This brings to mind what is possibly the most famous quote associated with the America's Cup. When the British team had lost the first competition to the American schooner, Queen Victoria asked Which is second?, only to be answered, Ma'am there is no second.

BOATS

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.

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WHAT'S NEW AT THE BARCELONA AMERICA'S CUP

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 Youth America's Cup and, for the first time in the history of the competition, the 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.

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 Youth America's Cup and the 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.

CALENDAR/SAVE THE DATE

Save the following dates for the America's Cup and don't miss out on a single detail of the competition.

2024

• 22nd August: Louis Vuitton 37th. America's Cup opening ceremony.
• August 22 to 25: Start of the last preliminary regatta, with all the teams competing for the first time on board their AC75s.
• August 29 to September 8: Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robins. A series of races where four of the top ranked challenger teams will advance to the Semi Finals and the fifth will be eliminated. The defending Cup champions, Emirates Team New Zealand, will also take part.
• September 14 to 19: Louis Vuitton Cup Semi Finals.
• September 17 to 26: Celebration of the Youth America's Cup.
• September 26 to October 5: Louis Vuitton Cup Final. The qualified semi-finalists will fight for the right to face Emirates Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Match.
• October 5 to 13: Celebration of Puig Women's America's Cup.
• October 10: Opening ceremony of the Louis Vuitton 37th. America's Cup Match final.
• October 12 to 21: Start of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Match. A competition of thirteen regattas, which will pit the current holders of the trophy – Emirates Team New Zealand – against the winning team of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The first team to win seven points will be the winner of the Louis Vuitton 37th. America's Cup, and the defender of the 38th.

HOW TO WATCH THE REGATTAS

BARCELONA AND SPORT

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.