The America's Cup will be held in Barcelona in 2024. It is the oldest competition in the world and one of the sporting events that generates the most economic and media impact, comparable to the Olympic Games and the football World Cups. Barcelona's choice by the organizers for its 37th edition was confirmed this Monday by the mayor, Ada Colau. "Today Barcelona celebrates another great piece of good news, which is that our city will host the America's Cup," Colau stated in a video on her Instagram profile.
The bid to host this event has managed to forge a solid consensus among the different administrations involved ---which will contribute up to 45 million euros to the organization---, from the city council to the Generalitat and the Government, as well as the Port of Barcelona and the city's private initiative, which will also contribute capital to organize the event. Colau pointed out that the administration's commitment to promoting the blue economy and the transformation of the Olympic Port have been decisive factors for the organization to opt for the Catalan capital, which competed with Malaga, Cork (Ireland), and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), after Valencia was dismissed.
"We are a nautical city and we have proven experience, not only in attracting sporting events, but also in generating synergies and making them grow. Barcelona has all the capabilities and talent to emerge from this crisis with strength, and proof of this is that more and more reference events are consolidating in our city," she defended. The mayor cited as examples the Mobile World Congress (MWC), which closed its last edition with more than 60,000 attendees; the imminent high-profile landing of Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the most important international audiovisual fair, and the World Capital of Architecture that the city will hold in 2026.
For Colau, another positive factor of hosting the America's Cup is the ability to extend its impact on the city over time, a factor also pursued in other international events such as the MWC. "It is a competition where, beyond the days of the event, the participating teams make large investments in innovation and, therefore, has a sustained economic impact during the two years prior to the regatta. In addition, the competition is very strongly committed to the use of renewable energies," she remarked.
This tournament has already stopped in Valencia on two occasions, in 2007 and 2010. In the 36 previous editions, the competition has traditionally been held in the United States, despite the fact that in recent years it has also been held in cities in New Zealand, as in the last edition, in 2021, with Auckland as host.