Photo/Supplied.
As the final act of the America’s Cup Trophy Tour, Barcelona’s ‘Summer of Sailing’ was officially presented yesterday
with all four trophies that make up the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup presented together for the very first time.
The event was hosted at the ‘Tinglados “El Taller”, an ambitious, newly-completed, renovation project co-ordinated by
the Port Authority of Barcelona that has restored four previous ship building sheds on the Eastern Quay and represent a
commitment by the Port of Barcelona to not only preserve its heritage but to create more open spaces in the Port Vell to
welcome citizens. Lluis Salvado, President of the Port de Barcelona welcomed the distinguished guests and gave a brief
history of the ‘Tinglados’ that date back to 1905 as ship-building sites.
Anticipation built as Pedro Fernàndez de Santaella, Country Head of UniCredit for Spain & Portugal, presented the outstanding bowline design of the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup before Eugenia de la Torriente,
Chief Communications Officer of Puig, presented the strikingly beautiful, inaugural Puig Women’s America’s Cup.
Representing the title sponsor of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, Marc Alins, General Manager of Louis Vuitton
Mediterranean, then came to the stage to open the bespoke Louis Vuitton trunk and reveal for the first time the coveted,
prestigious Louis Vuitton Cup which, as the legend states: “To win the America’s Cup, first you must win the Louis
Vuitton Cup,” and is the trophy that all the five challenger syndicates will be vying for. Louis Vuitton’s remarkable
involvement with the America’s Cup stretches back some 41 years to 1983, the waypoint for the modern-day America’s Cup
as the 132-year winning streak of the New York Yacht Club came to an end.
Last but certainly not least and flanked by its permanent security guards (Norm and Cooper), the 173-year-old America’s
Cup Trophy took centre stage accompanied by Grant Dalton, CEO of America’s Cup Events as well as CEO of the current
holders of the trophy, Emirates Team New Zealand on behalf of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. The ‘Auld Mug’
completed the trophy line up, the first time ever seen, alongside the Louis Vuitton Cup, the UniCredit Youth America’s
Cup and the Puig Women’s America’s Cup – the spoils on offer for success in this most thrilling of summers for the apex
events in the sailing world.
Marking the significance of the occasion, Grant Dalton further welcomed to the stage senior Government and local
institutional officials including the Ajuntament de Barcelona – Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona and Generalitat de
Catalunya – Albert Castellanos, Secretary of Business and Competitiveness who all addressed the distinguished audience.
Grant Dalton, CEO of ACE, spoke about Barcelona’s Summer of Sailing saying: “We’re delighted to be announcing and
presenting the Barcelona ‘Summer of Sailing’ which will run for a total of 67 days from 22nd August through to the end
of October 2024 and where we will be open every day with free access for all to come and enjoy the sailing and off-water
activities where we can guarantee something for everyone from the Fan Zones through to the Official Race Village and all
manner of gastronomy and entertainment being planned. This is undoubtedly a world-class event, and it couldn’t happen
without the united support of the government, the mayor and city council, the port authorities and the people of
Catalonia. The Trophy Tour was spectacular, and the engagement was first class. Thank you to everyone involved and now
we look forward to the racing beginning at the end of August.”