The impact of the America’s Cup sailing in Barcelona at the end of the summer of 2024 (September / October) will also reach Girona. It will certainly not have a sporting impact, directly, in the nautical clubs of the Costa Brava, but they will be able to get performance from the diffusion and the echo that this sport will have during, before and after the competition, tourist income aside. “It’s the bomb, and obviously we will benefit from it,” said Carles Palomares, technical director of the CN Costa Brava-Vela Palamós.
Barcelona will host the 37th edition of the America’s Cup sailing two years from now, as confirmed on Wednesday, beating Malaga, Cork (Ireland) and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) in the fight. The Emirates Team New Zealand, the defending team of the title, and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, the club it represents, have chosen the Catalan capital as the venue for the most important sailing competition in the world. A sporting event, the third most watched after a World Cup or an Olympic Games, which according to the Catalan government will have an impact of 1 billion euros in the country.
L’Escala, Cadaqués, Les Medes and the Cathedral appear in a promotional video on the event’s networks
Palomares considers that in sports the competition can favor nautical clubs closer to Barcelona such as those in Badalona or Mataró, but that it will be difficult for the Girona coast to have a direct impact on sports. “It is undeniable that tourism will benefit us, because it will put us on the map. It’s a very big thing. From the outset, we are sure that we will sell many more sailing courses, there will be more interest in this sport thanks to its dissemination, and it will help us to boost sailing throughout Catalonia “, adds Palomares. Participating teams can mobilize up to 200 people, usually arrive at the venue one year in advance, and usually start training six months before the event. At the moment, a promotional video for the Copa América already offers images of various highlights of the Girona region, such as the Cathedral of Girona, Cadaqués, L’Escala and the Medes Islands.
The manager of CN l’Escala, Raimon Roca, also sees it as an opportunity. “Surely it will have an impact here as well,” he said, convinced that the competition “will give a boost to sailing and sea sports.” Roca believes that “the Copa America can have an oil slick effect, an injection of motivation”, in addition to the interest it may have among the public. “There are many nautical clubs in Girona and sailing schools are predominant, the competition will promote this activity throughout the country and on the Costa Brava,” he said.
