AC32
The Cup in Europe at the beginning of the 21st Century saw many changes made to the format and management style of the event. To bring the competition up to date and into the space of the hundreds of millions of people that live in Europe many exciting initiatives were put in place. The first was a bid process to find the Host City, somewhere that would provide reliable winds and an excellent waterfront from which the public could be part of the show. The second was to introduce a number of build-up regattas over the years leading up to the America’s Cup Match in July 2007. And the third was to introduce a fleet racing format to these events, increasing the spectacle still further.
The city of Valencia in Spain was selected as the venue for the 32nd America’s Cup and it turned out to be the best event that the modern Cup has ever seen. The City of Valencia saw economic benefits of €2bn investment in the port, €3.9bn net economic benefit for Valencia and €6bn benefit for Spain.
In terms of fan engagement, media coverage and sponsor attention, 6.4m live spectators watched the events, there were 36 official TV rights holders, 4 bn TV viewers in 150 countries tuned in, 230 corporate partners engaged as sponsors and 125,000 business guests attended the events.
The eleven challengers that sailed for the 32nd America’s Cup were not ultimately successful in producing one team strong enough to beat the Swiss defenders, but it was a closely fought event. The final score was 5-2. Emirates Team New Zealand, the Challenger, kept it really close for the whole match. The margin of victory for the last race was just one second. It had been the most unpredictable match since 1983 and left the world hungry for more and the next edition of the Cup.