Barcelona will not host next edition of America's Cup

Barcelona will not host the next edition of the America's Cup sailing competition.

Both the winner, New Zealand, and the city council ruled out the Catalan capital hosting the 2026 edition.

Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton took Barcelona off the table on Tuesday night.

"It would be difficult to expand the number of teams based on the available infrastructure in Barcelona," he said.

With the announcement, the CEO of the Kiwis, who won the 37th edition of the sailing competition, suggested that they were looking for another venue for the 38th America's Cup.

On Wednesday morning, the city council confirmed that the next edition of the competition will not be held in the city. 

Economy councilor Jordi Valls argued that the competition cannot contribute more to the city if it is extended until 2026. 

"A new edition make no sense. The event was unique for 2024, it was successful, and the split with the America's Cup organizer was amicable," he said.

The councilor stressed that the sailing event has had a positive impact on the city, strengthening its international projection and accelerating investment in the city.

Looking ahead, Valls stressed that the Catalan capital has other international events on its agenda, such as the Tour de France kick off in 2026.

The split between the city council and New Zealand came after the local government told Grant Dalton that it would not repeat the investment in the competition, according to La Vanguardia newspaper.

In total, the sailing event has cost Catalan taxpayers €54 million, of which €30 million came from the Catalan government, €10 million from the city council and €5 million from the Diputació de Barcelona, among others.

In a statement, Grant Dalton said that the competition has experienced "significant growth on many fronts" in Barcelona. 

"As a result of these successes, we have a number of valuable properties that we wish to continue building," he continued. 

Dalton emphasized that the team is keeping an "open mind" on how to increase the "global footprint" of the competition.

In addition, the Emirates Team New Zealand informed that the sporting event attracted 2.56 million attendees between August 22 and October 19, 2024.

The initiative 'No to the America's Cup' welcomed the departure of the competition from Barcelona.

"This elitist competition, which has not attracted the interest of locals and has required enormous public expenditure justified by false figures, will not be held in Barcelona again," they said in a statement. 

The campaign, which includes 140 organizations, recently filed a complaint with the Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia, requesting it investigates the public funds allocated to the event.

Now that the competition is over and will not be held in the city again, it is time to analyze its impact. 

Despite the city council's positive assessment of the event, its economic impact is still unclear.

A report by the University of Barcelona, commissioned by the city council for €134,000, is expected to shed light on the true impact of the competition.