America's Cup

The pre-regattas for the 32nd edition of the America's Cup, which will culminate in Valencia in 2007, began in the month of September in Marseilles with the celebration of the Louis Vuitton Act 1, with regatta fleet and match-race trials. Six teams participated, with victory going to the BMW Oracle Racing.

The act 2, match-race and 3, fleet regatta, all took place in the waters of Valencia, thus providing an initial contact for the competition with the field of regattas where the final battle for the America's Cup will take place. In these pre-regattas, the Emirates Team New Zealand won in the Louis Vuitton Act 2, and the Team Alinghi, in the Louis Vuitton Act 3. The Team New Zeland won the ACC Champion 2004 title for the best results in the three trials held in 2004.

During 2005, the America's Cup will travel through Europe for the celebration of six Louis Vuitton Acts in three cities. Valencia will be host to acts 4 and 5 towards the end of June. At the end of August, the teams will go to the north of Europe to celebrate acts 6 and 7, and at the end of October the teams will return to the south of the European continent to complete Acts 8 and 9 in Trapani, Italy. During 2006 two different Louis Vuitton Acts are scheduled to be held in Valencia.

In 2007, the final event will be a fleet regatta for all of the participants. After this, the Louis Vuitton Cup will be held between April and June in order to determine who will face the Team Alinghi to fight for the America's Cup, in June and July of 2007 in the waters of Valencia.

The excellent conditions for navigation, the favourable meteorological conditions with a very regular thermal wind throughout the summer months make 90 % of the days optimum for the celebration of regattas. The creation of a land base dedicated exclusively to the race, its prestigious sailing tradition since the sport of the lateen sail and the enormous capacity for a very dynamic organization have been the reasons behind the decision to choose the city of Valencia as the site for the America's Cup.