America's Cup 'expectations met,' says Barcelona city council

The 37th America's Cup sailing competition in Barcelona saw Emirates Team New Zealand lifting the trophy for the third consecutive time. The winner of the sports event was clear after defeating Ineos Britannia 7-2. Still, the host city was part of the victory, as the city council says that all "expectations have been met" regarding the championship.

"Among our challenges, there was the international recognition, reconnecting the city with the Mediterranean, and promoting sustainable business," Jordi Valls, councilor for the economy in the city council, said during an interview with Catalan public broadcaster TV3.

"The outcome is extraordinarily positive," he added after saying that around 2.5 million spectators followed the sports event. In early October, just before the races between the NZ and UK teams, the city council said there had been 1.6 million visitors.

However, Valls did not talk about the final economic impact, which was expected to be over €1.2 billion, according to a report from Pompeu Fabra University.

Valls also ruled out a "large opposition by residents" to the America's Cup after being asked about the demonstrations in Barcelona.

"I do not believe there has been that big of an opposition. There are many opinions across the Barceloneta neighborhood," he said. "Some are very happy, and some are completely against it, but we have to highlight that there has not been any security nor naval incident," he added.

Emirates Team New Zealand will now have to choose, once again, the next host city after winning the tournament. In March 2022, the CEO of the competition, Grant Dalton, announced that Barcelona would host the 2024 edition. While organizers said there could be room to see the championship happening in Barcelona again, the city council leaves the possibility open.

"We have to think about it and speak with the organizer," Jordi Valls told the Catalan broadcaster.

A general review as a city "is required to see if we have enough reasons to host the 2026 edition, and this is something we will need to decide in future days," he added.

"Objectively, America's Cup has been extraordinarily positive for Barcelona," Valls said. There have been around 80% occupancy rates in hotels during the last weeks of the sports event, and the public fund spent was €56 million.

"The biggest advantage of the city is that we did not have to build new infrastructure for America's Cup. We did not create a debt," the councilor added, aside from the increased cost of security and cleaning teams as they had to be strengthened.