Grant Dalton, CEO of the Copa América: “It’s incredible how far Barcelona has come in eight months”

The 37th Copa América unveils the logo and dates of the previous regattas

BARCELONA, 16 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The 37th edition of the Copa América de Vela will begin in Barcelona on August 22, 2024, with the opening ceremony and later with the regattas prior to the great competition, which will take place in September and will serve to decide who will fight for the Cup. America, from October 12 to 27 of the same month, against Emirates Team New Zealand, defending champion.

This was announced by the CEO of the event, Grant Dalton, at the presentation this Wednesday at the Museu Marítim de Barcelona, ​​where he explained the progress in preparing for the competition, detailed the calendar and assured that the teams “are ready” to set up. on the bases of the spaces installed in the Port, which is expected to be before the summer of 2023.

“Everything indicates that everything will work excellently,” said Dalton, confident that the legacy that the Copa América will leave in the Catalan city, as the 1992 Olympic Games did, will be great. A legacy, or volunteering, which is an “intangible value” that the Copa América can leave in Barcelona.

The CEO of the event’s organizing authority reported on the latest plans for the 37th America’s Cup, with substantial progress in terms of laying the foundations of what will become a global event that will place Barcelona at the center of world attention. .

“It is incredible how far we have come in just eight months, since Barcelona was announced as the organizing city. A milestone that could not be reached without the essential support of all the institutions of the city and the country, including the Fundació Barcelona Capital Nàutica (FBCN), which plays an important role, facilitating and gathering all the support between the hosts and ACE Barcelona, ​​the organizer of the event”, he valued.

Dalton explained the dates and format of the event. The Official Starting Ceremony of the 37th America’s Cup will be held in Barcelona on August 22, 2024. It will be followed by the final preliminary test and the ‘Challenger Selection Series’, where the boat that will be the challenger will start and lead to the regatta. final of the ‘America’s Cup Match’.

And it is that The 37th America’s Cup will consist of several tests that will culminate in the Match in October. The Preliminary Races will serve as warm-up races before the ‘Challenger Selection Series’, where it will be decided who advances and faces the Defender for the ultimate prize.

In addition, both the women and youth of the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup will be launched to compete at the highest level, thus paving the way for the future of the America’s Cup. For the first time in 171 years of history, an America’s Cup will be held Women’s Cup. The nerve center of the Women’s & Youth America’s Cup competition will be Barcelona’s Port Olímpic.

During late 2023 and early 2024, there is the possibility of up to three preliminary events taking place. During the summer of 2023 all the teams will have their base installed and will be training in Barcelona.

On the other hand, Dalton revealed that one of the most exciting projects being planned is the ‘America’s Cup Experience’, an informative and experiential space for everything related to the Copa América. Space that includes interactive simulators and the extraordinary IMAX experience of being on board an AC75 of the competing teams on the 600-square-meter screen, in the heart of the America’s Cup village, in the IMAX building.

In the act of presentation were, together with Grant Dalton and the mayor of Barcelona, ​​Ada Colau, the Minister of Business and Work of the Generalitat, Roger Torrent; the first vice-president of the Diputación de Barcelona, ​​Jaume Collboni; the representative of the Government in Catalonia, Maria Eugènia Gay, and the president of the Port of Barcelona, ​​Damià Calvet.

Colau assured that all areas of the City Council are involved in the logistical issues of the event so that “Barcelona becomes a benchmark for success” and has said that the people of Barcelona must have full confidence in the capacities, talent and potential to choose the better projects to land them in the city, something in which Collboni has also agreed.

For Torrent, the Copa América is a legendary competition that opens a “window of opportunities” to project Barcelona and Catalonia worldwide and to generate employment, in addition to promoting innovation projects and also being a boost for research and the transition towards a green mobility