Sailing: 37th America's Cup preview, full schedule and how to watch live as Britannia win through to face Team New Zealand
Discover what you need to know about the 37th running of the oldest international sporting competition still in existence, sailing's Americas Cup, in Barcelona from 12 October.
Sailing
Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) and INEOS Britannia will go head to head in the 37th Americas Cup sail racing match, the oldest international sporting competition in the world, from 12 October in Barcelona, Spain.
INEOS Britannia, representing the Royal Yacht Squadron from Great Britain, are the challengers. They earned their spot in the final match having won the Louis Vuitton Cup qualifying event by beating 2021 America's Cup runners-up Luna Rossa of Italy, and are the first British team to sail in the America's Cup in 60 years.
Meanwhile, ETNZ represent the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, and are the two-time defending champions from 2017 and 2021.
The match will be raced as a best-of-13 series, with the first boat to seven race wins claiming the America's Cup, which was first contested in 1851. They will race on AC75 monohull foil yachts, which can reach race speed of over 100 km/h.
Since 1851, only teams from the United States, Australia, Switzerland, and New Zealand have won the America's Cup. No British challenger has ever held the cup, despite the inaugural race 173 years ago having been held off the coast of the Isle of Wight in England.
For the first time, a Women's America's Cup race is also taking place, running from 5 to 13 October.
Top names competing in 2024 America's Cup
A number of notable Olympians will compete in the 2024 match, with the two teams being skippered by Olympic champions Peter Burling (ETNZ) and Ben Ainslie (INEOS).
Other Olympic champions involved include Giles Scott, Dylan Fletcher-Scott, and Blair Tuke, as well as former rowing gold medallists Hamish Bond and Matt Gotrel and track cycling bronze medallist Simon van Velthooven.
Course for Americas Cup 37 in Barcelona
The exact race course in Barcelona's Port Olímpic for each of the potentially 13 races depends on the prevailing wind direction on the day.
It will be around 1.7 nautical miles (around 3.2km or 2.0 statute miles) long, but also have width restrictions: boats must stay within a width of around 0.5 to 0.8 nautical miles (0.9km to 1.5km) or face a penalty.
Boats will race upwind on the first leg, then downwind on the second, and repeat for a total of six legs per race.
Full schedule of 37th America's Cup 2024 match races
On race days, races are scheduled to begin around 2pm local time (12:00 UTC), subject to prevailing wind and weather conditions.
- Saturday 12 October: Race 1, Race 2
- Sunday 13 October: Race 3, Race 4
- Monday 14 October: Reserve day if required
- Tuesday 15 October: No racing scheduled
- Wednesday 16 October: Race 5, Race 6
- Thursday 17 October: Reserve day if required
- Friday 18 October: Race 7, Race 8 if required
- Saturday 19 October: Race 9 if required, Race 10 if required
- Sunday 20 October: Race 11 if required, Race 12 if required
- Monday 21 October: Race 13 if required
- Tuesday 22 October–Sunday 27 October: Reserve days if required
Where to watch America's Cup 37 from Barcelona
The America's Cup match can be watched on the America's Cup website and Facebook and YouTube pages, subject to territorial restrictions.
In the United Kingdom, it will also be broadcast on TNT Sports and Eurosport, while in New Zealand, you can watch on Stuff.co.nz and on Warner Bros. Discovery's broadcast channels.
Fans in the U.S. can follow on ESPN+, while the match races will be on Fox Sports in Australia.