The America's Cup has been an accelerator for projects that were in the drawer"

--- First, who is Daniel Puig?

--- I am a person who loves Barcelona very much. An entrepreneur who worked abroad for a long time, but returned almost 20 years ago. I could summarize it by saying that I am an entrepreneur in love with my city.

--- Where does this love for Barcelona come from?

--- I was born and studied here, in Barcelona. Then I worked abroad, but I returned. Volta al món i torna al Born. Barcelona has "pulled" me a lot. Wherever I have gone, I have always promoted the city. I have lived in Paris, New York, and other cities, but what we have here they don't have anywhere else. We are not aware of the quality of life we have in Barcelona. In fact, when I started this whole America's Cup story, politicians asked me why I believed so much in Barcelona. And I always answered that question, when you travel the world, it is completely answered: the international image that Barcelona has is spectacular.

--- And the business side?

--- I come from an entrepreneurial and business family. At home, we have always lived it that way, both on my father's and my mother's side. I set up my own business in 2003, which, precisely, I sold this year. And before that, I had worked in several multinationals. But the satisfaction of setting something up and having it go well is incomparable. I surely carry it inside. It is part of my family's DNA.

"The international image that Barcelona has is spectacular"

--- The story begins on October 27, 2021, when Guillermo Altadill, who is the most important navigator Spanish ocean sailing has ever had, calls me to ask if I can put him in contact with some sponsors because there was a possibility of setting up a Barcelona bid as the venue for the next edition of the America's Cup. After explaining it to me a bit over the phone and seeing the different possibilities, we scheduled an in-person meeting.

--- And what does he tell you at the meeting?

--- He explains to me that Grant Dalton is looking for a new place to hold the America's Cup and that here in Barcelona we have possibilities. It must be a place with prepared facilities and a time zone that works for the United States and Oceania. Then the nerve awakens in me and I mention it to Juan Luis Wood, a great friend of mine and Olympic sailor, who also sees many possibilities. It is then that I begin to seriously consider it. That is, it no longer seems like a crazy idea to me.

--- This is the starting point, but then?

--- Then there are two impulses. On the one hand, my wife, who is Swedish and Lutheran, a society where they have no grays. And when I complained saying that Barcelona was losing ground, she told me: do something or don't complain. And the second was my father, who in 1985, along with other businessmen, put money out of their pockets to make the bid for what ended up being the Barcelona Olympic Games. My father, when the possibility of the America's Cup came up, had passed away 8 months earlier and I thought that, in some way, I also had to do it for him.

"When I complained saying that Barcelona was losing ground, my wife told me: do something or don't complain"

--- Well, I start looking for complicities. First, I talk to my family and they recommend that, as my father did, I look for the Samaranch of the moment. In this case, it's Stewart Hosford, the director of the agency that Grant Dalton chooses to help him select candidacies. He is the CEO of Origin, the agency that managed, among others, to bring the 2012 Olympic Games to London. Thanks to Guillermo Altadill, I make contact and invite him to Barcelona. And here begins a very good personal relationship.

--- And is this where the candidacy begins to be built?

--- Yes. He makes us understand that, although we are late and have a lot of work to do, Barcelona has real possibilities of being the winner. And from that moment on, I contact the Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat. And both tell me that they like the project, but that we must work silently to weave complicities. And this is when Barcelona Global, with Aurora Catà at the helm, get fully involved in the project and put all their resources to make this end up becoming a reality. And from here we start walking.

--- Did everyone see it well from the beginning?

--- Almost everyone, yes. The Generalitat from the first moment. And Jaume Collboni too. But we lacked the involvement of Barcelona's civil society. And especially to financially guarantee the part of the project that the administrations did not provide. And this is when, from Barcelona Global, through Barcelona & Partners, we started looking for the 25 million that were needed to guarantee the project.

--- According to what is said, it was done in record time.

--- 25 million euros were raised in 15 days. To do it in such a short time, obviously, we could not enter with normal dynamics. That is, boards of directors, marketing departments, etc. We had to contact directly the people who have the power of decision to sell them a dream. In the worst case, they lost a million... and in the best case, they didn't.

--- The question is obligatory: what did they gain from this?

--- Well, nothing. This was the true difficulty and, in a way, the great virtue. We made a guarantee of esteem and commitment to the city and the country. There was an opportunity to contribute, from a positive perspective, to support Barcelona, after a complicated period. It's what my wife said: do something or shut up. Well, this was the opportunity to do something for the city and that was the key to success.

"With the Copa América there was the opportunity to collaborate, from a positive perspective, to support Barcelona, after a complicated period"

--- It was a Call-by-Call process. That is, calls, lunches, and coffees with very little time. We explained to them what the America's Cup was, what it could mean for the city, and all the values that it provided. And above all, to tell them that they had very little time to decide.

--- And what elements make Barcelona a winning option?

--- There were candidacies with more advanced work and, most importantly, candidacies where money was not a problem for them. And this is where the Barcelona brand comes into play. A brand that, from the outside, has always had a very powerful image. The moment Barcelona came into the spotlight, all the other contenders raised their stakes, as they understood that a very strong team was coming to play here.

--- And beyond the brand?

--- Many factors, and very relevant ones. First, the location: essential for travel and television rights. Second: the hotel, transport, and logistics offerings. Third: the fantastic port we have that integrates with the city. Fourth: the wind conditions are more than correct. Fifth: the particularity of the Barcelona coast, where very close to the coast, you are already 80 meters deep, and that means the competition can be followed from the beach.

--- And, suddenly, one day we wake up and it turns out we have the America's Cup in Barcelona.

--- It wasn't easy. We went through very delicate moments. And one must consider the context of political instability that existed. But many people, from different perspectives and sensibilities, worked, very silently, to make this project a reality.

"Many people, from different perspectives and sensibilities, worked, very silently, to make this project a reality"

--- Once the Cup was achieved, I was excited to continue helping, and they proposed it to me. I suppose they saw in me a neutral person, with a certain idea of the project and eager to contribute.

--- What does the Fundació Barcelona Capital Nàutica do?

--- It is the tool that public administrations, together with the Chamber of Commerce and Barcelona Global, have created to help ACE, America's Cup Event, organize the America's Cup. Fundamentally, it has three objectives: to facilitate the project, to unite the various investments by the administrations, and to work to guarantee a legacy for the city and for the country.

--- What can be the legacy of the America's Cup?

--- There are many, but one is already very visible: you just have to walk around the Port to see how it has changed in just a few months. That is to say, it has been an accelerator of projects that were in the drawer and that, if they were not for the America's Cup, would have taken years to come true.

Second: consensus. And I see this in the Foundation's meetings: we are many and of different colors and sensitivities, but when we enter the meetings, we have a single project.

Third: it puts Barcelona back on the international map. We are an important city that does important things.

Let's remember that the three most televised events in the world are the Olympics, the World Cup, and the America's Cup. And Barcelona will have all three. It is the only city in the world that will have had all three.

Fourth: it already has and will have a great economic impact. The Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) conducted a study where it is estimated that it will have an impact of about 1,200 million euros. The direct impact is 1,200 million and the indirect impact is 2,200 million.

"Barcelona is a great city of the world"

--- It's not a feeling: I'm convinced. Barcelona has gone through some bad times, but it has always recovered. And now, as has happened many other times, it returns with strength to reclaim what it is: a great city of the world.