In Barcelona, ??the sailing atmosphere begins to breathe like never before with the celebration next year of the 37th edition of the America’s Cup. And those who have always tried to promote this sector in the Catalan capital hope to be able to take advantage of the wake of the important sporting competition. That is why the Barcelona International Boat Show, which will take place from October 11 to 15, trusts that collaboration with the event will help it grow in visitors.
The event for boats and their accessories closed last year with 50,000 visitors. The director of the event, Josep Antoni Llopart, explained this Wednesday during the presentation that this year they hope to exceed that figure. “The Copa del América will awaken the interest of new groups,” he argued.
The Copa del América will be very present in the room. “We will be a connecting bridge between the city and the largest sailing competition in the world,” described the president of the Boat Show, Luis Conde. In addition to the talks about the event, during the fair you can test a simulator of one of the competition boats.
“It will imitate movement, air, it will have virtual reality and it will be inaugurated for the Náutico,” said Xavier Andrades, from the America’s Cup Experience. You can also visit the immersive exhibition located in the old Imax. Everything will have a discount for visitors to the Boat Show.
At the same time that this positive synergy occurs, the celebration of the America’s Cup has complicated the organization of the Náutico. The competition already occupies spaces on the docks that have traditionally been used by the fair. A fact that has forced a reorganization to be carried out.
However, there has been a “slight decrease” in exhibitors, Llopart acknowledged. Finally there will be 240. The floating exhibition will reach 160 boats and there will be 22,000 square meters of exhibition area. “The challenge has been to accommodate all the requests,” he said.
All options are open regarding the celebration of next year’s Náutico, when it will coincide with the Copa del América. From trying other locations to changing dates to not holding the show.
But, according to Josep Antoni Llopart, the outlook will be different later on: “The America’s Cup will be a lever of growth for future editions,” said the director of the Boat Show.
