America's Cup
The Host City of the 32nd America's Cup was Valencia, located on Spain’s Mediterranean coastline. Its excellent sailing conditions, the creation of a base exclusively for the event, its great marine tradition and the enormous organisational capacity of such a dynamic city had all contributed to the choice of Valencia as the perfect place to hold the first America’s Cup ever to be held in Europe.
For the organisers, one of the most important criteria for choosing the host city was stable and reliable weather conditions. Valencia, therefore, was an ideal choice, given its regular thermal breezes: on good days, the Southeast wind rises towards the end of the morning and continues to be stable throughout the afternoon. You can almost set your watch by it, which is why Valencia has sometimes been called the "Mediterranean Freemantle" (but not quite as windy!). The thermal breeze is regular in the summer months and the statistics show that there are good sailing conditions on 90% of the days.
The Mediterranean coast’s excellent weather is not Valencia's only asset. It is the capital of the Valencia Region and one of Europe’s fastest growing cities. It is a historical, dynamic, modern and enterprising city where the America’s Cup family, the Challenger’s bases and the public and fans will enjoy the benefits of a special village created specifically for them.
The two race areas where located less than 30 minutes from the base and the races will be held crowd-pleasingly close to the coast.
Valencia and the Cup
There are many links between Valencia and the America's Cup. There have been three Spanish challengers (1992, 1995 and 1999). Rolf Vrolijk, the Alinghi chief designer, also designed the Bravo España boat in Auckland in 1999. It must also be remembered that Valencia was chosen by the Spanish teams as their training base.
The America's Cup has often been called the Holy Grail of sailing and Valencia, according to tradition, is home to the real Holy Grail. Another America’s Cup anecdote is that the famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava completed his doctorate in Zurich, Switzerland, the home of the current defenders. Calatrava is also responsible for the Calatrava Bridge, the Ninth of October Bridge and the City of Arts and Sciences.
The city’s relationship with water sports has been mainly represented by the Royal Yacht Club of Valencia. Founded in 1903, it is one of Spain's oldest yacht clubs. In order to host the 32nd America’s Cup, it has undertaken an ambitious extension and restoration project.
His Majesty King Juan Carlos is a seasoned sailor. All the members of the Royal Family are great fans of this sport. His Royal Highness Prince Philip was a member of the Spanish crew in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. The King was also the Guest of Honour and a distinguished participant in the “America’s Cup Jubilee” held in Cowes in 2001.
The 3rd July 2007, ALinghi won the 32º America's Cup to the Emirates Team New Zealand with 5 - 2 in the America's Cup Match.
This victory was the end of four exciting years. Two days after this historical victory in Valencia, Alinghi presented the Protocol of the 33th America's Cup, which meant the begining of a new chapter in the legend of the oldest sport trophy of the world.
Great Prize of Formula One Europa Telefonica
Valencia is also going to be the host city of the Great Prize of Formula One Europa Telefonica which will take place the following 28th August.
|