The America’s Cup Defender, Alinghi, along the Société Nautique de Genève, today announced the venue for the 33rd America’s Cup in February 2010.

“We are pleased to announce that Ras al-Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates, will be the Host Country for the 33rd America’s Cup,” said Fred Meyer, Vice-Commodore of the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG).

“This is a venue that offers perfect weather and great sailing conditions for a Match in February; the authorities have shown tremendous interest in, and support for hosting the America’s Cup; and the country has experience in organising first-class sporting events such as ATP tennis, PGA golf and Formula One. They will make a purpose-built island available at the Al Hamra Village in Ras al-Khaimah to provide the America’s Cup teams, sponsors and fans with an outstanding venue.”

Having won the 32nd America’s Cup in 2007 in Valencia, the SNG is granted the right to choose the venue for the next America’s Cup which is scheduled to start on 8 February 2010.

“Our absolute priorities in making this decision are the prevailing weather conditions and the resulting safety that they bring to both teams,” explains Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth. “We looked everywhere for a venue that suited having good racing for the Match dates in February. We had trained in the UAE in the winter with Alinghi before and in the end we settled on Ras al-Khaimah in particular because of the infrastructure in Al Hamra Village and because it has a great building sea breeze during the day, similar to Mediterranean conditions in the summer, making it good for these boats and safe for all concerned.”

Background information on the 33rd America’s Cup venue

RAS AL-KHAIMAH
Ras al-Khaimah literally means ‘the top of the tent’ in Arabic. One of the seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it covers an area of 656 square miles (1,700km2) and borders on Oman, situated in the southern part of the Persian Gulf. The emirate has a population of approx 300,000 and is ruled by HH Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad Al Qasimi. The Deputy Ruler is Crown Prince HH Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi. The capital city of Ras al-Khaimah is located 45 minutes from Dubai airport and is also served by the Ras al-Khaimah International airport.

THE VENUE
A 22-hectare purpose-built island inside the Al Hamra Village lagoon will host the team bases and all the necessary facilities for the media, the sponsors and the public. The Al Hamra Village is a new luxury resort with more than 3,500 residences on the coast of Ras al-Khaimah.

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS IN UAE
Motorsport: Formula-1 in Abu Dhabi since 2009 (Hamilton, Alonso, Schumacher?)
Golf: PGA in Dubai since 1989 and Abu Dhabi since 2006 (Woods, Els, Montgomery, García?); Tiger Woods has designed his first golf course in Dubai
Tennis: ATP in Dubai since 1993 (Federer, Nadal, Murray, Roddick, Agassi?) and WTA in Dubai since 2001 (Williams, Hingis, Davenport?)
Sailing: RC44 in Dubai since 2007 (Coutts, Spithill, Barker, Col?) and Alinghi winter training in Dubai in 2006/7
Football: FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi in 2009 (FC Barcelona, Estudiantes, Auckland City?)
Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi (completion expected in 2011)
New York Philharmonic Orchestra in Abu Dhabi in 2009