Barcelona Two years ago, Leslie Ryan arrived in Barcelona with her dog, a husky. “The weather is not very good, too hot. I do. He thinks I’m Irish, and in Ireland we celebrate like crazy on a sunny day”, he explains. Ryan is the director of the 37th edition of the America’s Cup. Every day he takes public transport from Sarrià, where he lives, to the World Trade Center, in front of the sea, where he has his office. One year before the start of the most famous sailing competition in the world, meet the ARA at the Saló Nàutic.
The Copa America is a year away. What is the balance of the situation?
— Very positive. We are where we want to be. We know the scenario better. We know in detail the places where everything will be done and we have a very good relationship with the authorities. The Port, the Generalitat, the City Council, the Spanish government… There is still much to be done, true. Sometimes I wake up anxious thinking about everything that needs to be done. But I’m sure we’ll deliver an incredible event. The best Copa America in history. Also, we now have all six teams training here every day. And when you see them sailing, you realize that we are already close. He thinks that my first year in Barcelona, nothing happened in the water. Everything was done in the offices.
Has it been difficult to start the competition?
— No, the collaboration with the authorities has been positive. Each place where the Cup has been held is different. Its culture, spirit, language… but also the layout of the spaces. Here the challenge is very beautiful. I am in love with the port of Barcelona. British ports are grey, boring. Instead, here you are close to the city, with lots of elegant old buildings. And around that we were able to lay the foundations of the six teams. The teams are based in spaces that will be opened in the city after the Cup. We are trying to create an experience in the Port Vell area that allows Barcelona to look towards the sea again, as the City Council wants. I’m not talking about tourism, I’m talking about the local population. Now that we have the Saló Nàutic in the Old Port, for example, you can get an idea of what it will be like, since this is where the main area for fans will be in a year’s time.
The America’s Cup is one of the main sporting competitions in the world, but few people know it in our home…
— Yes, true. In Sarrià, sometimes I explain my work to people and they don’t know what I’m talking about. We still have a lot of work to do in this regard. We must explain ourselves well, be didactic. Talk about these magnificent ships that fly over the water. No need to make it too complex. In a city with so many visitors, many people will approach the spaces we are preparing out of simple curiosity. I have discovered that in Catalonia people have great organizational strength, that things are always done, that people go to places. We will schedule concerts and offer a gastronomic offer to attract people so they can get to know sailing. And those who already know her, well these are coming for sure.
When the New Zealand team began looking for a venue to hold the Cup in 2024, breaking with the tradition of holding it at home, Barcelona had not offered. How did the process go?
— At the beginning, Barcelona was on our list of 16 possible headquarters. It is an emblematic city in Europe and is also known for events within the world of sailing. I had come there many times to do transatlantic races with big ships. And the legacy of the Olympic Games remains, of course, so it was on our list, along with Valencia. It was in the middle of a pandemic and everything was very expensive, but we contacted every city on our list to see what they had to say. And Barcelona didn’t plan for it, unlike places they offered, like Malaga. However, a communication channel with Barcelona was quickly created. It was lucky. From an operational point of view, it is the ideal place to hold the Copa América, although many people still don’t know that. It is in the south of Europe, well connected, with a good reputation, with options to bring the competition closer to the people. And with a good racing course, with deep enough water and wind close to the coast.
The Copa América achieved a photograph that is difficult to see, with the City Council, the Generalitat and the central government united…
— Yes, many people have told us that things don’t usually go that way. But for us, having agreements is key, since we need to talk to all the authorities: some manage water, others some facilities, others tourism… I would say that 50% of my work is obtaining authorizations, permits, licenses, use of space, so having these entities on our side is vital. In fact, it was key to discover that there was already a plan to modernize and open the Port Cell to the population, so the Cup has been made to speed it up and allow spaces like the fish market to be reformed and opening up to people earlier than planned, for example.
How does your relationship with the sea begin?
– At home. I’m from Dublin and my father was a big boater. As a child I wanted to have a horse and he would get serious, he would get angry because he wanted me to go sailing with him. I remember that he was already following the America’s Cup and he was telling me about the boats and their history. Years later I started working in a marketing company in London and specialized in the sports area. We had clients like UEFA. And suddenly, the British team that would participate in the America’s Cup arrived as a client. Since I was sick of sailing, I took charge of it and in a short time I was already working with them. After that, I have already dedicated my whole life to the sea, working with the British sailing team and then two years with the New Zealand team in the America’s Cup. There, the tradition they have is incredible. You arrive and the taxi driver informs you if the teams have sailed, the wind, everyone knows everything. Here the space is difficult to improve, but it must be made available to the people. Now, many people already know us. In fact, we have many more requests for volunteers than expected places. And of the volunteers who attended the previous one in Vilanova i la Geltrú, 90% asked to repeat in a year’s time. Good sign, to have so many confirmed volunteers.
Is this your biggest challenge? It is a new era for the America’s Cup, different from the previous ones, with a new headquarters, but also the debut of the women’s and youth Cup.
— Totally true. A new era. It is a very ambitious project. We want it to be the least polluting cup, you can’t look away. It is necessary to rationalize water consumption, not to leave an ecological footprint. All the boats of the organization use hydrogen, and the competition ones, of course, do not pollute because everything depends on the strength of the wind and the hands of the crew. In San Francisco there was a first test of the Youth Cup and it was nice to see those young sailors giving it their all. It’s nice to have the challenge of bringing this sport closer to the population, to the people. We will have three free spaces, in Port Olímpic, Port Vell and the Hotel Vela area, with activities and screens to follow the competition. Many people don’t know it or think it’s boring, but the sea catches you. It has been trapping thousands of people for centuries.
A few days ago the first regatta took place in Vilanova i la Geltrú. The weather failed. One day too much rain, and others, not much wind.
— It was horrible, the day of the storm. The cables were under water, nothing could be touched. After all, we seafarers are used to it. But a year from now it will be different, since a calendar is designed with many days in the middle that are used, precisely, to be able to put in the regattas that cannot be held on the days planned because of the wind. In Vilanova it was different, we only had four days. Think that a year from now, the central part of the Cup will be 68 days. First with the regattas between the five aspiring teams and finally, the winner will face the reigning champion, Team New Zealand. We will soon agree with the teams on the definitive calendar, which would be from August 22 to October 27.
Earlier, this December, another preliminary regatta similar to the one in Vilanova i la Geltrú is planned, but in this case in Jiddah, in Saudi Arabia. The American team said it had no plans to go. Does everything continue as planned, despite the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
— Yes, in principle everything remains the same, with all the teams. In fact, Saudi Arabia organizes a lot of sporting events, football tournaments, motor tournaments, a film festival… And in theory everything goes ahead.
2023-10-13 11:27:21
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