On 22 August 1851 the schooner America won a race around the Isle of Wight, England, for what was known as the 100 Guinea Cup. In 1857 the America syndicate donated the cup to its home club, the New York Yacht Club. In becoming the cup’s trustee, the NYYC promised to accept challenges from any other club wishing to compete for it.

Since then the America’s Cup has been held on 31 occasions with American teams claiming 28 wins, New Zealand two and Australia one. When the Cup was last held in 2003 in Auckland (New Zealand) it was won by the Swiss syndicate, Alinghi, bringing America’s cup, the 100 Guineas Cup, back to Europe for the first time in 152 years.

As a result, the 32nd America’s Cup is being organised by the Yacht Club of Geneva, Alinghi’s home club. As the Cup’s regulations state that the regatta must be held at sea, the Swiss-based club held a selection process involving several European candidate cities. On 26 November 2003 the club announced that Valencia had been selected to stage the next regatta.