2024 America’s Cup: ‘great international event’ for Barcelona’s sustainable development

The Barcelona deputy mayor, Jaume Collboni, has welcomed the celebration of the 2024 America’s Cup in the Catalan city as it is a "great international event." During a speech at the annual convention of the Cercle d’Economia lobby on Wednesday, Collboni acknowledged that the event will place the city in the "blue economy." 

The blue economy refers to activities related to sustainable development, such as the 2024’s America’s Cup. The new event will help bring other projects to the city, the deputy mayor has claimed and it will also improve the connectivity between Barcelona "and the sea," he added.

The opportunity to have America’s Cup is possible "because of citizens that have helped this to become a reality, which allows us to recover the love and pride," for the city, Collboni explained.   

On the similar hand, the organizer of the 2024 America’s Cup, Grant Dalton, has explained why did they choose the city. 

Organizers needed "to find a city that shared their responsibilities," including sustainability, Dalton said to the attendees at the annual convention in Barcelona’s Hotel W. One of the other reasons is "the ability that I can feel to motivate the population, who believes in Barcelona and wants to make it great again," he added.  

One of the most applauded moments from Dalton’s speech was after explaining that Barcelona could make history. 

"Beijing has had the Summer and the Winter Olympics, but nobody has had the Summer, the Winter, and the America's Cup," the boss of the New Zealand Sailing team, Grant Dalton, said. 

The comments came after listening to the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), Alejandro Blanco, celebrate that the 2030 Winter Olympic Games are going to be a reality. 

"We will soon have a Games bid and we will win them," Blanco said. "The games are not only the 17 days of the competition, but from the moment you win the bid, you have seven years of athletes, sports federations, and companies that want to take part, and we have to take care of the environmental and economic sustainability" he added.

Despite Blanco’s comments about the Games’ sustainability, several ecological associations across the territory have called on for a demonstration on May 15 against the 2030 Winter Olympic bid. 

The games, if organized, will be held in Barcelona, the Pyrenees, and the Aragón region, which has generated some controversy in some areas of the territory. By the end of July, residents of the Catalan Pyrenees will vote on whether to decide if they support a possible bid or not.