A total of 2,650 volunteers between Barcelona and Vilanova to involve the citizen with the competition
BARCELONA, 7 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The organizers of the 37th America’s Cup Barcelona 2024 presented this Wednesday the volunteer program for the competition, for the previous regatta in Vilanova i la Geltrú this year and the competition itself between August and October next year, with a total of 2,650 volunteers between the two venues and with the desire that ‘Team B’ (‘Team Barcelona’) achieve a legacy similar to the one left behind by the volunteers at the Barcelona 92 Olympic Games, in addition to helping to involve the public with the regatta.
At the headquarters of the Fundació Barcelona Capital Nàutica (FBCN), ACE Event –organizer of the regatta– unveiled ‘Team B’, a team of volunteers who will rely on to impregnate the city and its citizens with the Copa América, with 2,300 volunteers in the capital Barcelona who, despite being a tiny number compared to the 50,000 volunteers at the Olympic Games, will try to bring out similar feelings.
“We wanted to continue the feelings that there were in the Olympic Games, and part of it was because of the volunteers. I realized this, quickly, as soon as I arrived in Barcelona. We are not an Olympic Games, but this volunteer program is important for find something similar to what was experienced and contact society, so that the city feels something so exciting again”, said the CEO of AC37 Event, Grant Dalton.
Dalton assured that the different public and private administrations that collaborate with the event will help in this volunteer program. “Volunteers are very important to us.
What kind of people do we want to attract? It’s nothing specific, it’s not a certain profile. But we are looking, for example, for a grandfather and a grandson to be able to talk about this volunteering as they talked about in Barcelona 92′, that they have that union as volunteers”, he pointed out.
The general director of the FBCN, Ignasi Armengol, expressed himself in a similar vein, who also sets the Barcelona 92′ volunteer program as an example to follow. “We have the challenge of involving citizens, the country. One of the most difficult challenges. It is a long project and that is why we are starting now. Volunteering is important because we want it to be the most important lever to involve people. Volunteers of Barcelona ’92 were a legacy project and the challenge is to be able to reach that bar that was generated then. It is our great challenge”, he assured.
The purpose of the ‘Team B’ program is to cover the needs of the event and have a positive impact on the local community. “Our goal is to have as many requests as possible and that in one way or another, whether you are part of the program or not, you are involved,” said Xavi Prat, manager of the ACE Event volunteer.
The objectives are several, starting with the major challenge of achieving the largest volunteer program in the history of the Copa América, to be able to hold the “best competition in history”. And this with an open, local and inclusive team that manages to transmit the values of the competition through its volunteers.
And, as more specific goals, to achieve with those 2,300 volunteers in Barcelona and 350 in Vilanova i la Geltrú to support the 3 large areas (water, land and TV&media) in addition to offering “excellence in the viewer experience”, promoting sustainability and provide the best experience to the members of ‘Team B’. A ‘B’ that gains importance for being the initial of Barcelona (“the home team”) and for being present in the competition logo next to the Cup.
As for the figures, these 2,300 volunteers in Barcelona are distributed among 300 in water, 1,800 on land and 200 in TV and media, while the 350 in Vilanova i la Geltrú will be 50 for water, 250 for land and 50 for TV and means. “The Olympic Games had 50,000 volunteers, but our 2,300 in Barcelona will have the same desire and energy to have a maximum impact in Barcelona,” Prat said.
To be a volunteer, you must meet the criteria of age (18 years or older), availability (10 consecutive days at an average of 6 hours a day) and language (speaking Catalan, Spanish or English, at least).
The calendar is as follows (for Barcelona): from June to November 2023 the registration of volunteers will take place. Then, between January and April 2024, the construction phase will take place (review of applications, key groups, interviews and final communication).
And finally, the third phase of training (digital, general and specific) will take place between May and August 2024. According to the organization, some 428 people will move on regatta day and some 152 on non-competition days.