- In late August the America’s Cup races began in Barcelona, the oldest international sporting competition.
- The event attracted investment along the waterfront and high-spending visitors, with an effect on hotels, restaurants, nautical services, transport and retail.
- For local businesses, the key is to prepare their offer in advance and to think about what will remain when the event is over.
In late August 2024 the America’s Cup races began in Barcelona, the oldest international sporting competition. The races would run until October, that is, across much of the end of summer and the start of autumn. The city thus became the stage for an event that combines sport with naval technology, spectacle and business. It was an opportunity to show the city to a very broad international audience over several weeks.
An event of this kind is not limited to the races. Intense activity is organised around them: teams that settle for months, sponsors who invite clients, visitors who arrive to follow the competition and service companies preparing to meet extraordinary demand. All of this has an economic effect that deserves to be analysed in detail. It is also worth looking at it from the perspective of smaller companies, which are the ones with the most to gain or lose.
A major event at sea
A competition that stretches over weeks is not a weekend event. That duration changes the scale of what it means for the city’s shops, hospitality and services: it generates sustained activity, which allows local businesses to plan some way ahead and to stagger their offer.
In addition, the presence of teams, crews, organisers and media implies a demand for accommodation, food, transport and technical services that continues throughout the period. For the city it is an opportunity for international exposure; for local businesses, to widen their clientele and show their offer to an audience that, in other circumstances, might not know it. For that it is essential that the product or service be designed for a client with a different profile and a different language.
The economic effect
The event attracted investment along the waterfront and high-spending visitors. An occasion of this kind benefits hotels, restaurants, nautical services, transport and retail, and generates activity around the races themselves. Investments in the port area, moreover, can remain once the competition is over. The quality of those investments will be measured, above all, by their use once the competition has ended.
It is important, however, to look at the effect realistically. The benefits are not shared equally: they depend on location, type of business and capacity to adapt to the rhythm of the event. Costs also exist, from pressure on public space to temporary rises in prices. A serious assessment must take all of this into account, and not just visitor figures.
A test for the city
For the city, it was also a test of its ability to host major events with less impact. Cities that stage international events learn with each experience to coordinate mobility, security, cleaning and coexistence. A good outcome strengthens the place’s reputation and its appeal for future events; a poor outcome weakens it. It is the kind of accumulated learning that turns some cities into regular hosts of major events.
Local businesses wanting to make the most of such occasions should prepare their offer in advance and think about what will remain once the event is over. It is worth defining what audience to attract, how new clients will be served and how the relationship with them will be maintained. A one-off event is worth more to a business if it leaves contacts, reputation and habits that endure. A record of new clients, an offer designed to retain them and a carefully kept online presence are simple measures that help to prolong the effect.
A one-off event is worth more if it leaves something lasting.
This article is general information. It is not legal, tax or investment advice, and it does not take anyone’s particular circumstances into account.
