The public administrations and the private sector have decided to throw in the rest, put all the meat on the grill, in the final sprint for Barcelona to be chosen as the venue for the 37th edition of the America’s Cup for sailing, which will be held in the 2024. The Catalan capital has already formalized its candidacy through a protocol that establishes the conditions and commitments assumed by all the parties involved in this adventure, including financial contributions, which between public institutions, private promoters and the consortium of Turisme de Barcelona amount to 70 million euros.
The document you have access to The vanguard , bears the signature of the first deputy mayor, the socialist Jaume Collboni, who in recent times has launched a strategy to capture major events in the city and who has carried the weight of the negotiation on the municipal part, although the Mayor Ada Colau made a passionate defense of the initiative last week; the Minister of Business of the Generalitat, Roger Torrent; the president of the port, Damià Calver; the president of Turisme de Barcelona, Eduard Torres, and Aurora Catà, president of the Barcelona Global association, which through its Barcelona&Partners agency has been in charge of weaving the commitment of private promoters with the city’s candidacy.
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Various conclusions are drawn from the reading of the protocol supporting the candidacy. One of them, the consideration of “general interest” of this sports competition -the third most important in the world after the Olympic Games and the World Cup- “and the significant positive impact it would have for the city and the country, both economic level, generation of wealth and jobs, as well as tourism, because it would strengthen the image of Barcelona as a leading city with an international brand; and it would also promote measures in favor of sustainability, innovation, equality and diversity”.
The document recalls that the 2024 edition of the America’s Cup will include for the first time the women’s regatta, the youth regatta and the so-called Hydrogen Project, which assumes that the support boats will work with green hydrogen.
The distribution of the economic contributions sets a maximum of 40 million euros for the amount committed by the public administrations as a whole, that is, the Generalitat, the City Council and the State, although in this case the fact that another Spanish city, Malaga, figure among the applicants to organize the America’s Cup (along with Barcelona, Cork and Yeda) postpones that state financing.
The Catalan capital makes its candidacy official with a protocol signed by all the promoters
The administrations will contribute 10 million in this first half of 2022, 20 million in January 2023 and 10 million in October 2023, conditioned and reimbursable if a certain volume of income is achieved for the event. The direct contribution from the City Council – which gives five million euros each year to Mobile – will not exceed 10 million euros.
The great novelty of recent days in terms of the financing of this adventure is the contribution of Turisme de Barcelona with five million euros. This money, which will come in part from the coffers of the Diputación (involved in the consortium through the Barcelona is much more which extends tourism promotion beyond the capital to the rest of the province’s attractions) will serve to promote campaigns to attract quality tourism.
The bid protocol states that Barcelona Global, through Barcelona&Partners, undertakes to make “every effort to obtain the subscription by private promoters of guarantees of up to 25 million euros (this amount has increased in this sprint end of the candidacy), as well as to monitor and promote the event and collaborate with all those actions necessary to achieve the maximum economic impact in the city”.
The tourism consortium joins the initiative and the administrations will put up to 40 million euros
In the document that lays the foundations for Barcelona’s candidacy, it is indicated, on the other hand, that the State administration has expressed its interest in collaborating by processing the America’s Cup for sailing as an “event of exceptional public interest” and through the economic measures and contributions that will be agreed in the event that Barcelona is chosen. This conditional participation of the central administration contemplates the tax regime of non-profit entities and incentives for patronage, as well as the recognition of workers linked to the event and their families of the possibility of entering and staying in Spanish territory through the processing of the pertinent permits. And also the adoption of specific tax measures, such as authorization for the temporary importation, without VAT or import duties, of all equipment and goods directly related to the America’s Cup, including boats and personal effects for their use.
Once the homework has been done and presented to the Emirates Team New Zealand, defending champion, holder of the rights to the competition and, ultimately, who will decide the venue for the next edition, the verdict can be awaited. For this, there is no set date on the calendar, although some sources point out that the name of the city that will host the 37th edition of the America’s Cup, with the competition of the applicants and the final confrontation between the New Zealanders and the challenger it could be known in a matter of days or, at most, a few weeks.
Members of the Emirates Team New Zealand are in permanent contact with the promoters of the Barcelona bid and in recent days they have
visited the port up to three times to see in situ
the facilities of what could be the headquarters of the 37th edition of the oldest sports competition in the world. The first edition dates back to 1851.
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