Festivities Begin for 34th America’s Cup

With the first race of the America’s Cup over two months away (on Sept 7-23), the build-up in San Francisco begins this week with ceremonies, parades, and the start of the challenger elimination series. Here are the highlights:

July 4: Activities start at noon with a ribbon-cutting event at the America’s Cup Park at Piers 27/29. Details here.

July 5: A parade of boats followed by time trials for the AC72s on the America’s Cup course. Details here.

July 7-Aug 30: The Round Robin series begins for the three challengers. The Round Robin winner will have the option to go direct to the Challenger Finals or elect to advance to the Semi Finals and choose their opponent in the Semi Finals. If the later scenario occurs, the other team goes direct to the Finals, and will wait to compete against the winner of the Semi Finals. Schedule here.

Broadcast: The Round Robin and Semi Final challenger races will be on the America’s Cup YouTube channel (subject to territorial rights-holder restrictions) while the Challenger Finals and America’s Cup Match will be available by television broadcast. Details here.

Note: A strike by union workers with Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) began this week (midnight Sunday), with the shut down affecting about 400,000 weekday commuters who use BART in the San Francisco Bay area. Transportation options, particularly between the East Bay and the City, should expect additional traffic.