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The 2027 America’s Cup will be sailed in the Bay of Naples from 22 May to mid-July 2027, in Italy for the first time in the history of the Cup. The actual match between defender Emirates Team New Zealand and the best challenger begins on 10 July 2027 (as at November 2026).
The essentials at a glance
- Dates: The Louis Vuitton Cup for the challengers begins on 22 May 2027, and the America’s Cup Match on 10 July 2027 with two races on the first day. Start times have not yet been announced; Naples is on German time, and in 2026 the races began at 2pm.
- Venue: Bay of Naples. At the 2026 preliminary regatta, the race course lay off the waterfront road Via Francesco Caracciolo between Castel dell’Ovo and Posillipo, and the team bases are in the Bagnoli district.
- Teams: Defender New Zealand and six challengers from Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, France, Australia and the USA. There is no German team.
- Boats: AC75 foilers, which fly above the water on hydrofoils, with five sailors on board, including at least one woman. Batteries replace the muscle power of the Cyclors, who used to supply the energy by pedalling.
- Watching: The 2026 preliminary regattas were broadcast live and free of charge on the official America’s Cup YouTube channel, and the Race Village on the waterfront was open to the public. Dates and information can be found on the official America’s Cup website for Naples.
America’s Cup 2027: When are the dates?
The regattas in Naples run from 22 May until the weekend of 17/18 July 2027, all being well. The challengers first decide in the Louis Vuitton Cup who gets to race New Zealand, and the match for the trophy follows from 10 July.
| Stage | Dates 2027 |
|---|---|
| Louis Vuitton Cup: opening fleet races | 22–23 May |
| Louis Vuitton Cup: triple round robin (everyone against everyone) | 26 May – 11 June |
| Youth America’s Cup | 2–7 June |
| Repechage (second-chance races) | 12–13 June |
| Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals and final | 16 June – 4 July |
| Women’s America’s Cup | 5–9 July |
| America’s Cup Match | from 10 July; the first to win seven races takes the Cup; scheduled to end on the weekend of 17/18 July |
Official reserve days are planned for too little or too much wind, so individual race days may be postponed. Naples is in the same time zone as Germany. The exact start times for 2027 have not yet been published.
The Youth America’s Cup and the Women’s America’s Cup will also be sailed in Naples in 2027. Youth and women’s crews from the teams will compete against each other on the smaller AC40s. Only sailors aged 25 or under may take part in the Youth America’s Cup.
Who is sailing in the 2027 America’s Cup?
Seven teams have entered: the defender from New Zealand and six challengers.
- Emirates Team New Zealand (New Zealand): defender, winners of the last three editions.
- GB1 (Great Britain): Sir Ben Ainslie’s team, formerly Athena Racing, and the official first challenger (Challenger of Record).
- Luna Rossa (Italy): the home team and winners of both 2026 preliminary regattas.
- Tudor Team Alinghi (Switzerland).
- La Roche-Posay Racing Team (France): the French team, formerly K-Challenge.
- American Racing Challenger Team USA (USA): a late entry, only joining in April 2026.
- Team Australia Challenge (Australia): entered since May 2026, not yet at the start of the 2026 preliminary regattas.
What is new about the AC75 boats?
Racing continues with the AC75, a carbon foiler. The main change is the crew: just five sailors instead of the previous eight, at least one of them a woman.
Five sailors and a battery instead of muscle power
At the last edition in Barcelona in 2024, four cyclors provided the energy for sail trim and foils by turning pedal cranks. That job is now done by a standard battery, whose energy is capped at the cyclors' former output. On board there are two helmsmen (one each for port and starboard), a flight controller and trimmer, and a crew member who monitors the data and energy consumption.
In addition, every race features a guest sailor who is not part of the team. The America’s Cup last had this in 2007.
Old hulls, new foils
Each team may only have one AC75. Rather than designing a boat from scratch, the teams build on a hull from 2021 or 2024. New teams can buy an existing AC75 or build a replica hull.
The differences between the hull shapes are considered small, so the teams look for speed in the foils and control systems. The 2024 record shows how fast the boats are: in the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup in Barcelona, INEOS Britannia reached 55.6 knots, which is just under 103 km/h. You can find out how to convert knots yourself in our article Converting knots to km/h.
The technical data for both boat classes can be found on the official page for the AC75 and AC40.
How did the 2026 preliminary regattas in Cagliari and Naples go?
Luna Rossa won both preliminary regattas in 2026, each time in the final against Emirates Team New Zealand. The racing was on the AC40, an identical one-design foiler with a crew of four.
The first preliminary regatta took place from 21 to 24 May 2026 off Cagliari in Sardinia, where Luna Rossa has been training since 2014. Five of the seven teams took part, along with three mixed crews of women and young sailors for the first time.
The second preliminary regatta ran from 24 to 27 September 2026, right on the future Cup racing area off Naples. Nine boats from six teams sailed eight fleet races, and the top two met in the match-race final. Luna Rossa, with Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni at the helm, took an early lead in the final and beat New Zealand. The preliminary regattas do not count towards the 2027 standings, but they show how far along the teams are.
Where can you watch the America’s Cup 2027 live?
At the 2026 preliminary regattas, all races were shown live and free of charge on the official America’s Cup YouTube channel, with replays straight afterwards. Which broadcaster will cover the 2027 event in Germany is not yet known.
On site in Naples
In 2026, the Race Village was at the Rotonda Diaz on the Mappatella beach, right on the Via Francesco Caracciolo. The waterfront road was closed to traffic during the preliminary regatta. Admission was free, and there were big screens, food and drink, and before and after the races the crews were introduced on stage. Along the waterfront promenade between Castel dell’Ovo and Posillipo you can watch the racing area from the shore.
Details of the 2027 programme and any grandstands have not yet been published.
If you want to watch from your own boat
At the 2026 preliminary regatta, there were designated zones for spectator boats outside the closed-off racing area. Before each regatta, the organiser publishes course information and safety rules for spectators on the water. Which city harbours there are in Naples, and what you need to know about getting there and berths, can be found in our profile of Harbours in Naples.
Latest update (2 November 2026)
The teams are setting up their bases in Bagnoli. Further preliminary regattas are planned in various locations for 2027. The last of these, in Naples, will already be sailed with the AC75s. Dates and venues have not yet been published. We will update this section as soon as there is news.
Frequently asked questions
When does the America’s Cup 2027 start?
On 22 May 2027 with the first fleet races of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The match between New Zealand and the best challenger begins on 10 July 2027.
Where does the America’s Cup 2027 take place?
In the Bay of Naples in Italy. At the 2026 preliminary regatta, the racing area was off the waterfront road between Castel dell’Ovo and Posillipo.
Is there a German team at the America’s Cup 2027?
No. Teams from New Zealand, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, France, Australia and the USA have entered.
Can you watch the America’s Cup for free?
The 2026 preliminary regattas were shown free of charge on the America’s Cup YouTube channel, and the Race Village in Naples was open to the public. The broadcast arrangements for 2027 have not yet been finalised.
Which boats will sail in the America’s Cup 2027?
In the Louis Vuitton Cup and the match, AC75 foilers sail with a crew of five. The Youth and Women’s America’s Cup are held on the smaller AC40.
Race for yourself or explore the Bay of Naples
If you would like to get to the start line yourself after watching, you will find on Törnfinder Regatta sailing trips for cabin charter. You will find sailing trips in the Italian sailing areas under Sailing in Italy, and all other offers in the trip overview.
