To gear up for three months of sailing excitement, the America’s Cup has set up an experience exhibition at Barcelona’s port. Large screens both inside and outside the exhibition show footage of the high-speed race boats.
In Barcelona, everything will revolve around sailing in the coming three months with the America’s Cup, the world’s oldest sporting event, taking place here. After New Zealand, the defending champion, won the pre-regatta last week, the main event of the 2024 Cup, known as the Louis Vuitton Cup, begins tomorrow.
Since its beginnings in 1851, “the race with no second place” has turned into a high-tech battle at sea: The boats used are the pinnacle of foiling yachts and able to race up at 100 kilometers per hour. And also on screen, the race has evolved: The television footage is captured using live cameras, drones, helicopters, and chase boats, and surround sound, all transmitted wirelessly.
To feel the thrill of these high speeds on water, there is no better place than the official America’s Cup Experience exhibition. Here, visitors can explore both historical races and the current Cup in various interactive spaces. In addition to several smaller rooms with display installations and projection mappings, the main attraction is 10-minute film, described as capturing “the essence of the America’s Cup in the most spectacular and special way possible”. Located in the IMAX building at Barcelona’s port, the exhibition features this film on what is claimed to be Spain’s largest cinema screen.
During its stay, the America’s Cup Experience has also set up a 200-square-meter LED wall on the exterior of the IMAX building. This digital display aims to connect the competition with Barcelona’s residents by showcasing race highlights and cultural content about the city. The installation was carried out by local integrator LED Dream Group, using LG LED panels supplied by Ingram Micro.
The race content is managed by a large production team led by Stephen Nuttall, the head of Television for the America’s Cup and former Senior Director at YouTube. In a video interview last year, invidis spoke with Nuttall about the challenges of producing and broadcasting exciting live coverage of the races across all media channels. You can re-watch the interview here: