The Barcelona Boat Show sets course to an edition living the spirit of the America's Cup

The big nautical event of the year before the celebration of the regatta © Fira de Barcelona

The 61st edition of the Barcelona International Show Boat will allow all the fans to experience what it means to be the venue for the third major international sporting competition, after the Olympic Games and the football World Cup. This October the show will help to bring the America's Cup closer to the city, as well as bringing a wide range of boats and the whole nautical world to the Port Vell.

From the 11th to the 15th of October, the Marina Port Vell, Moll de la Fusta and Moll d'Espanya in the Catalan capital will once again be the epicentre of the nautical world with the commercial offer of the leading boat show in Spain and a benchmark event in Europe. But beyond being able to discover the latest models and innovations in boats, the show will be filled with the atmosphere of the America's Cup in the city through exhibitions, workshops and experiences that will be held around it and that will aim to bring this legendary competition to fans, families and lovers of the sea.

The show will offer, among other activities, the possibility of visiting the America's Cup Experience, an immersive exhibition space that will open at the beginning of August, where visitors will be able to feel, among other things, the sensations of sailing aboard an AC75 class monohull sailboat like those that will sail the waters off the Barcelona coastline during the competition in a virtual reality simulator.

In addition, the installation of the nautical bases of the various teams participating in the 37th America's Cup involves a new distribution of the Boat Show's floor space. In this sense, the Inneos Britannia team's base has already been set up on a large part of the Moll d'Espanya. Thus, the motor yachts will dock at the Marina Port Vell and Spain quays, while the Fusta quay will accommodate sailing boats, catamarans, and the range of nautical accessories.

The president of the event, Luis Conde, stated that "the fact that the America's Cup is part of this edition gives the show enormous added value, as it gives us the chance to breathe the spirit of an event of great global importance for the nautical world and for the city of Barcelona itself."

The most sustainable nautical sector

On the other hand, sustainability, innovation and electrification to promote the transition of boating towards the blue economy will be the focus of the show which, organised by Fira de Barcelona, in collaboration with the National Association of Nautical Companies (ANEN), is expected to bring together over 220 exhibitors and 700 boats, 160 of which will be afloat.

The Boat Show will also offer activities to promote the practice of sports and recreational boating, as well as to reach new audiences. The director of the event, Josep Antoni Llopart, said that "in this edition, we will bring sailing to all fans and we will once again be a business powerhouse for an industry of great importance for quality tourism in our country".

In this sense, the general director of ANEN, Jordi Carrasco, said that "society wants to enjoy the sea and companies in the sector have options and experience to respond to all user profiles. This hobby will undoubtedly find an extraordinary opportunity to get closer to the sea during the Barcelona Boat Show, enjoying the prelude to the great event of world nautical sport, which is the America's Cup."

The show will once again be the key event to boost sales in a sector which, in the period between January and June, registered a total of 3,811 registrations, 7.3% more than the previous year. It is worth highlighting the good performance of the yacht charter market with 1,473 registrations, almost 40% of the total, in the first six months of this year.