About the 36th America's Cup

Record numbers of people tuned in from around the world to watch the gravity-defying AC75s fly across the Hauraki Gulf. New Zealanders came out in the tens of thousands to show their support for Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) and the visiting Syndicates and to watch Emirates Team New Zealand win the 36^th America’s Cup in spectacular style.

The improvements to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s waterfront, the Viaduct Harbour and Wynyard Quarter areas, have created attractive public spaces and further improved the connectivity between land and sea, leaving a waterfront destination that Kiwis and visitors love. This infrastructure legacy also provides facilities that can be used to host future major events.

While Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Aotearoa New Zealand were fortunate to be able to stage a safe and successful event during a global pandemic, the event did not make a return on the investment made. Fewer international Challengers than originally forecasted and the subsequent impacts from COVID-19, including international border restrictions and domestic Alert Level changes, all contributed to the event being not able to realise the expected return.

Various reports on the 36^th America’s Cup (AC36) have been published by the Crown and Auckland Council:

Further AC36 reports will be published as they are completed. 

The background to the 36^th America's Cup

On 26 March 2018, Economic Development Minister David Parker, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff and Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) announced they had reached an agreement in principle for the hosting fee, division of costs, and the location of the 36th America’s Cup – in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Read Minister Parker's press release on the Beehive website(external link)

Vision: Ignite the passion – celebrate our voyages

The America’s Cup has a special place in New Zealand’s recent history, and not just from a sporting point of view. Moments from the America’s Cup – celebration and heartbreak – are seared into our collective memory. The Cup has captured our imaginations and provided an opportunity to take our skills, culture and innovation to the world.

Kiwis are renowned for getting behind major events and the 36^th America's Cup was no different.

The underlying principles of 36^th America’s Cup were:

• Manaakitanga (a warm welcome for our visitors and all participants);
• Kaitiakitanga (guardianship – actively caring for our place, our environment and our people); and
• Kotahitanga (collaboration).

Host Venue Agreement

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Auckland Council, Mana Whenua, and America’s Cup Event Limited (ACE – a subsidiary of ETNZ re-established to run the event) worked together on a comprehensive programme to prepare for AC36 to ensure that AC36 was a great event with maximum shared benefits for Aotearoa New Zealand.

In March 2018, a Host City Appointment Agreement (HCAA) was signed between ACE, ETNZ, MBIE and Auckland Council confirming Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau as the location of the 36^th America’s Cup.  This was followed with a Host Venue Agreement signed in April 2019.

The Host Venue Agreement and Host City Appointment Agreement were released under the Official Information Act and MBIE has made these documents publically available. You can find both Agreements, with some redactions to preserve commercial sensitivity, and an executive summary of the Host Venue Agreement, as well as a copy of the 2017 Market Economics Economics Assessment Evaluation, at the links below.