America's Cup in Naples: 278 thousand attendees for the preliminary regatta

252,520 visitors to the Race Village, 26,373 spectators from the sea and 2,490 boats in the Gulf, including 22 superyachts per day. And on the last day there were over 120,000 spectators: more than the 104,000 spectators on the final day of the America's Cup in Barcelona 2024. These are the numbers of the preliminary regatta of the America's Cup in Naples, the lead-up to a 2027 edition of the America's Cup strongly desired and supported by the Italian Government, which in the four days of the event recorded a total of 278,893 spectators between land and sea.

According to the analysis carried out by Sport and Salute, the result takes on even more importance in direct comparison with the preliminary regatta in Barcelona, ​​where the Race Village had registered around 33 thousand visitors in total. Naples welcomed 252,520: 7.5 times as many. Even the daily average clearly shows the difference: from 8 thousand visitors in Barcelona to around 63 thousand in Naples, while the peak day went from 15,000 to over 120,000 visitors. Spectator boats also grew sharply: from 131 per day to 623, almost five times as much. The competition was followed by 225 accredited media from 14 countries, while the social content exceeded 20 million views overall.

The event also affected tourist flows. September 2026 reached approximately 2.2 million tourist presences, compared to 1.8 million in September 2025, with the preliminary regatta producing an increase of +10% compared to expectations. In the event area, overall spending was estimated at 3.8 million euros, with an average of 15 euros per visitor. The organizational machine involved 700 organizational staff, while 1,025 stewards, security operators and volunteers were involved in the event. Numbers that acquire even more value if put into perspective with the America's Cup 2027. The preliminary regatta took place over 3 days of competition, with around 70 thousand square meters of Race Village, the team bases in Nisida on 8,900 square metres, a stay of the teams of around two weeks, 252 thousand visitors and an investment of around 10 million euros. In 2027 the scale will change radically: 37 thousand square meters for the team bases in Bagnoli, 100 thousand square meters of Race and Fan Village, 62 days of event (of which 40 of regattas), an estimated stay of the teams of one year and 3-3.5 million visitors overall. A growth in the order of 12-14 times, which gives the measure of the leap in scale expected for 2027.

The dimension of next year's event will not only be sporting and tourist. Considering the direct and indirect impacts and the related activities generated by competition, the overall economic impact is expected to be between 1.4 and 1.7 billion euros.

The comparison with Barcelona helps to understand the extent of what awaits Italy and Naples. The 37th America's Cup held in 2024 generated 1.034 billion euros in economic impact, with approximately 1.8 million total visitors over the 59 days of the event.