Emirates Team New Zealand wins 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona

The 2024 edition of the America's Cup has a winner after Emirates Team New Zealand defeated Ineos Britannia on Saturday's first race in Barcelona.

The first of the two races planned for the day started around 2:50 pm after a slight delay, and the Kiwis only needed around 25 minutes to get the one victory needed to reach the seven wins. In fact, the nerves were so present that more than once, the UK team was just 10 meters behind the Kiwis. 
 

Hundreds of spectators watching the regatta in the Race Village held their breath several times. 

The UK, which took part in the final regattas for the first time in 60 years, left the competition once again without winning the Auld Mug. Despite their two victories from Wednesday, the UK team has never won the trophy in the almost 175-year history of the sailing championship.

To celebrate the feat, thousands of supporters from both teams, mainly New Zealanders, traveled to Barcelona to follow the last races from the city's harbor and beach. And under a heavy sun with temperatures of around 20ºC, Kiwis jumped for joy the moment their sailing team crossed the finish line.

The team made history and became the first sailing team to win three Auld Mugs in a row.

Ineos Britannia faced New Zealand after winning the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup against Italian Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. America's Cup, 'The Match' races, started on October 12, and while the Kiwis won the first four races, the UK team won two consecutive ones on Wednesday.

'Incredible city to race'

Barcelona has been the host city after New Zealanders decided to move the competition from their home country to Europe. And after the race, sailors praised the decision.

"It was an amazing race. We had to take too many risks," New Zealander sailor Peter Burling told media outlets after winning.

Especially after seeing "incredible support from Kiwis. It has been an incredible city to race, and we loved our time here in Barcelona," he added.

"It has been incredible to win here in Barcelona, what we did today, what an amazing moment," he concluded.

"These America's Cups are so much hard work, and I am not sure what the future holds, but I am sure it will be something exciting," he said regarding his future after winning the Auld Mug three times in a row.

This is a similar message to what Kevin Shoebridge, COO of the New Zealand team, said, as he "enjoyed the last one, and the team has been the strongest it has ever been."

Regarding the future, Emirates Team New Zealand will decide "at the end of the month" their next steps.

"At this stage, no decision has been made on the next host city; hopefully, in the next week or two, we will set up a timetable of our next moves," he told Catalan News.

America's Cup in Barcelona

The America's Cup 2024 edition organization chose Barcelona as the host city in March 2022 after celebrating the 2021 edition in Auckland. 

As defenders of the title, Emirates Team New Zealand had the option to select the site of the following sailing competition, and the Catalan capital was voted for with the support of local, regional, and Spanish authorities. To make the feat possible, private entities such as Barcelona Global, a lobby of companies promoting the globalization of the Catalan city, supported it.

Since then, six teams have set base in the city's harbor, with New Zealand coming first and followed by challengers: UK's Ineos Britannia, Swiss Alinghi Red Bull, Italian Luna Rosa Prada Pirelli, US' American Magic, and French Orient Express Racing Team.

Even Grant Dalton, CEO of America's Cup, told Catalan News that setting base in Barcelona was the "best decision" of his entire life. They came to the city to win their third consecutive Auld Mug.

Demonstrations against 'elite' championship

While America's Cup challengers were getting ready a year before the start of the first regatta in the city, many residents raised their voices against the championship.

Under the platform 'No a la Copa Amèrica,' neighbors questioned the impact the sports event could have on rents and traffic congestion in Barceloneta, an already very tourist site in the city.

Barcelona's Pompeu Fabra University had forecasted there would be around 2.5 million visitors coming to follow the competition, a figure that was questioned several times since the event started in August. In fact, the city council announced that around 1.6 million spectators had enjoyed the sports event. A figure questioned by the platform created against the 'misery' of the 'elite' and luxurious competition.

America's Cup was made possible after local authorities gave the green light in 2022. Residents criticized the former mayor, Ada Colau, for doing so and later apologized for approving it.

Some of them, demonstrated in early September in a get-together at the beach, and a month later around 2,000 people also rallied around the port area.

The last demonstration took place a few days after the city's anti-fraud office received a complaint regarding the public funds spent on the sports competition and just a day after the first races between Emirates Team New Zealand and Ineos Britannia took place.

First women's edition ever

For the first time in the 173-year history of the America’s Cup, there was a women’s event. Barcelona even had its own sailing team competing and making it into the semi-finals. 

The Sail Team BCN was competing in the women’s and youth races, as they, together with Real Club Náutico de Barcelona (RCNB), were the Spanish challengers for the event.  

The Unicredit Youth America's Cup took place between September 17 and 26, right before the Puig Women's America's Cup from October 5 to 13. The competition took place after the Louis Vuitton Cup and before the final match of the 37th America's Cup.

Would the next edition also be in Barcelona?

The organizers of the America's Cup in Barcelona are "optimistic" that the next edition of the sailing competition could also take place in the Catalan capital. 

Aurora Catà, the vicepresident of the competition, said that "there are a lot of things that have to happen before it is decided", as the winning team gets to choose where to set base for the next edition and it is not up to organizers only.

"I think that Barcelona is a marvelous city and that we can offer another edition pretty fast, but we have to wait until the end of the competition," Catà concluded.  

Coordinators of the competition have found in Barcelona "great facilities for the America's Cup," Grant Dalton, America’s Cup CEO, told the press on an institutional visit in early September.