In a year, on this day, sailing fans from all over the world will be more than aware of Barcelona. In twelve months, the ultimate challenger team will be facing the defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, which is preparing to retain the America’s Cup. The Boat Show has become the turning point. The countdown has begun. The teams that have been training in recent weeks to take advantage of the weather conditions that they will have to deal with next year, were presented this Thursday in society within the framework of the Port Vell fair to build bridges with citizens.
“Along with the previous regatta in Vilanova and la Geltrú, the Salón Náutico is a point of acceleration in the promotion of the America’s Cup”, says Ignasi Armengol, general director of the Fundació Barcelona Capital Nàutica, an entity that brings together the support of different administrations and that collaborates with the organization.
With the involvement of the Port of Barcelona, ??whose stand is once again an agora of reflection on the sector open to the city – this year it has been located next to the entrance to the show but outside the facilities –, during these days there are planned dozens of conferences with the Copa del América as the protagonist. The America’s Cup Experience outreach center, installed in the old Imax, also offers discounts for visitors to the Boat Show.
The six teams had a special role this Thursday morning in the same Port tent. The representatives of the whole of New Zealand, the British, the Swiss, the Italians, the Americans and the French explained how they prepare this countdown. “From now on, what each team does will be decisive, we are all very aware of the weather and the conditions in Barcelona,” said the head of the America’s Cup, Grant Dalton.
The director of operations of the defending team, Kevin Shoebridge, acknowledged that “we have the strongest rivals in a long time.” Lluís Salvadó, president of the Port; Albert Dalmau, manager of the City Council and Daniel Puig, on behalf of Barcelona Capital Nàutica, made the countdown official.
The Boat Show has reorganized its spaces, since the bases of some of the teams are located in Port Vell. However, sharing scenarios has ended up adding up. “The Copa del América is going to benefit us all. “People still don’t get the idea of ??what all this means,” says the president of the Boat Show, Luis Conde. “It would be crazy not to take advantage of this alliance,” adds Armengol, who explains that there are twenty projects that have been promoted or accelerated due to this sporting event.
“We are working, with ten Catalan companies, on the decarbonization of recreational boats,” says Armengol. He adds that the opening ceremony to be held will be “innovative” thanks to the participation of several firms. “We will show a way of doing things that will then be copied,” he says. He highlights that with the America’s Cup “the efforts of Barcelona and Catalonia to promote grassroots sailing have multiplied, so that the little ones become interested.”
Luis Conde is very clear about one of the legacies that the competition will leave. “One of the tourists that interests Barcelona is from the United States and they follow the America’s Cup a lot there,” he says. “Every day they will see the city on television, which will encourage them to come,” adds the president of the Boat Show. about the impact that the trophy can have on Barcelona’s global projection.
