ACWS Portsmouth countdown

Laura Hodgetts

There’s less than three weeks to go until the America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) Portsmouth event.

This summer’s ACWS is the first stage of competition in the 35th America’s Cup, which will culminate in the America’s Cup (Finals) in 2017 in Bermuda.

The Portsmouth event will run from 23 to 26 July and in addition to an action-packed spectacle out on the water, with the world’s best sailors battling for glory, there will be a four-day programme of entertainment ashore.

It is anticipated that six teams will compete in this series, and racing will be on a relatively short course, close to the shore.

More than 10,000 tickets have been bought for the Fanzone and over 100,000 registered for in the free-to-view Waterside Festival Arena. In the evening, pop and rock singers will take over the show with Portsmouth Live! A ticketed celebration held over three nights in the Waterfront Festival Arena. The programme begins on Thursday, July 23 and Friday, July 24, with The Massed Bands of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines. Saturday 25 climaxes with four international groups entertaining the crowd, with Spandau Ballet joined by Wet Wet Wet, McBusted and Carly Rae Jepsen.

Tickets are still available for the official Fanzone Arena, the paid-for ticketed space in the Race Village on Southsea Common with expert commentary and entertainment.

Related articles

The on-the water spectator area is being managed Queen’s Harbour Master Portsmouth (QHM).

Due to space constraints and the number of expected spectator vessels, the only vessels over 20 metres in length that will be allowed in the spectator areas must be specifically authorised by QHM – owners of such vessels should email NAVYNBCP-COBQHMPSO@mod.uk with full details of their vessel.

Read the full Local Notice To Mariners No 33/15 at: www.royalnavy.mod.uk/qhm/portsmouth/local-notices

Alongside the musical entertainment and AC45 catamarans racing in excess of 40 knots, there will be aerial displays from the RAF Red Arrows, Red Bull Matadors, The Blades, Trig Aerobratic and Grace Spitfire.

The Race Village will also feature a big wheel, America’s Cup virtual reality simulator, dinghy simulator, tinfoil boat race and knot tying competition. Plus RNLI-run games and activities.

The International Moth hydrofoiling dinghies will be out in force before the America’s Cup races start.

Presenter Davina McCall will host the prizegiving at the Waterfront Festival Arena on 26 July.

Tickets are available across all four days: www.ticketmaster.co.uk/acwsportsmouth