Breaking: Cork will not host the 37th America’s Cup as Government decides to withdraw from bidding process

Cork will not host the America’s Cup in 2024 following a decision by the Government not to proceed further in the bidding process for the 37th edition of the Cup, it has been confirmed.

A statement this evening from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media said that Ministers Catherine Martin and Jack Chambers along with officials in the Department spent the last six months assessing the feasibility of Ireland hosting the event but that, following consultation with party leaders and colleagues across Government, accepted the recommendation from their officials not to proceed with a bid.

The statement said assessment of the project has included extensive with Team New Zealand and their agents, Origin Sports; detailed consultation with key Government Departments, local authorities, and other stakeholders and technical assessments.

“The assessment provided is that, while Cork harbour is potentially a great venue for the event, based on the technical assessment carried out the necessary infrastructural and planning arrangements would not be in place to host the event in 2024.

“An event of the calibre of the America’s Cup brings with it an expectation of excellent delivery; the tight timeframe available prior to the 37th edition of the Cup brought with it a large risk of under-delivery,” the Department stated.

“The Ministers recognise that hosting such an event would have brought positives for tourism in Cork and the wider region and are committed to providing strong support to the tourism sector to rebuild as quickly as possible.

“However, it is also recognised that a very considerable amount of expenditure would have been required to deliver the event at a time of major and growing demands on the Exchequer and this had to be taken into account in arriving at a decision.

“The Ministers would like to acknowledge the very positive engagement with Team New Zealand / Origin Sports since this assessment process commenced, and to extend their best wishes to Team New Zealand for the 37th edition of the America’s Cup,” it continued.