Barcelona is celebrating. The popular Spanish city on the shores of the Mediterranean will host the next edition of the America's Cup sailing competition, the oldest championship in the history of the sport, founded in 1851. The trophy is brought to Barcelona by the latest winner of the trophy, Grant Dalton's Emirates Team New Zealand.

“Barcelona really is one of the most recognized cities in the world so to have the ability to host the most recognized sailing event in the world is hugely exciting,”, America’s Cup Defender Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton told New Zealand press. 

“When thinking ahead to the 37th America’s Cup and the AC75’s racing within a few hundred metres of the Barcelona beach, waterfront, and race village fan engagement zones it will be nothing less than spectacular.”

Barcelona is a leading city in terms of sustainability and social impact with ambitions to become Europe’s digital and tech capital, so the alignment with the America’s Cup is clear. Its existing world class facilities for racing, team bases, technical infrastructure, superyachts, and areas for the America’s Cup event village to host fans, hospitality, and media as well as an average wind range of 9-15 knots during the September and October race window, made the city completely fit for purpose.

Emirates Team New Zealand had first proposed Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and Cork (Ireland) as candidates, but their proposals did not convince either the team or the sailing world. It was then that the name of Barcelona came up.

Thanks to the support of public institutions and private entrepreneurs, Barcelona was finally chosen to host the 37th edition of the America's Cup, a project that will involve an investment of more than 75 million dollars, which, according to investors, will be rewarded with a final impact on the local economy of more than one billion dollars.

The well-known sailing race is considered the third world sporting event with the greatest international projection behind the Olympic Games and the World Cup. Although the competition should take place in 2021, the organization is considering its postponement to 2025 due to the coincidence with the Olympic Games in Paris and the European Championship in Germany. However, the busy sporting schedule could be resolved by setting the dates for the 37th America's Cup in the last four months of the year.

To date, the 37th America's Cup fleet is made up of five teams: Italy's Luna Rossa Prada, England's Ineos Britannia, American Magic, Switzerland's Alinghi, which is returning to the regatta with Red Bull, and New Zealand's own syndicate as defenders of the trophy.