Luxury and fashion titan Bernard Arnault gave sports another big vote of confidence over the weekend, handing the Auld Mug to Emirates Team New Zealand on Saturday night as the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup wound up two months of high-level yacht racing in Barcelona.
At his side was Vuitton chairman and chief executive officer Pietro Beccari, who earlier in the day — wearing the same navy Vuitton windbreaker as Arnault — joined the winning team on their boat to hold a banner as the New Zealand flag, and a “thank you Barcelona” message, rose swiftly up the 115-foot mast.
“You have the impression of standing on a UFO. It was pretty cool,” Beccari related a few hours later, still elated from a nail-biter of a race day that saw Emirates Team New Zealand edge out challenger Ineos Brittania by 37 seconds to win elite sailing’s biggest prize for the third time in a row. “With their advanced technologies, these flying boats are closer and closer to Formula 1, which you know [LVMH] embraced recently. So I think there is a lot of synergy and a lot of great leverage in terms of image that we can take from the Cup.”
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Jeroboams of Moët & Chandon were popped, sprayed, and sipped before the AC75 monohull foil yacht was towed back to shore amid a swarm of spectator boats ferrying jubilant sailing fans.
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Attending an America’s Cup final for the first time, Arnault captured the moment on his smartphone, congratulating Grant Dalton, CEO of Emirates Team New Zealand, and taking in stunning vistas of Port Vell on a sunny, breezy afternoon.
“To have Mr. Arnault with me, it was a great honor and a great moment in my career that I will always remember,” Beccari said of LVMH’s chairman and CEO.
“All the teams have loved it, the conditions here were great,” Dalton, who is also CEO of the America’s Cup, told broadcasters from the speed boat towing the Kiwi ship. “An amazing event….Many millions of people around the world have watched it.”
Arnault and Beccari changed into dark suits for the open-air awards presentation, the tall silver trophy housed in a bespoke Vuitton trunk dressed in Monogram canvas, and hand-painted with a graphic red “V” for “Victory.”
“What a beautiful and magnificent America’s Cup in Barcelona, and what a fantastic final today,” Arnault said, congratulating the New Zealand victors. “Your skill, determination and innovation have set a new standard of excellence.”
The Frenchman also had words of praise for the British team: “You pushed boundaries, showing resilience and the relentless pursuit of victory inspiring us all.”
Emirates Team New Zealand selected Barcelona for the 37th edition of the race, and “as both the defender and organizer of this year’s event, you have demonstrated exceptional skill on and off the water, setting a high bar for future hosts,” Arnault said, prompting cheers from the audience. “This year’s America’s Cup gave an example of ambition, innovation and excellence, and we share with the America’s Cup the same values which have driven our partnership since 1983.”
He called the yachting competition “a symbol of human ingenuity, teamwork and an inspiration for future sailors. Louis Vuitton remains committed to this magnificent sport, and we look forward to many more years of thrilling competition and unforgettable moments like today.”
Taking over the mic, Beccari revealed that he put the gears in motion to return as title sponsor of the America’s Cup in November 2022, placing a call to Dalton when he had not yet officially made the move from the management helm of Dior to Vuitton, where he worked earlier in his career.
Prior to that, Vuitton was last the title partner of the America’s Cup in 2017 in Bermuda.
“I think we know the Cup is better with Louis Vuitton, and Louis Vuitton is better with the Cup,” Beccari declared.
With fireworks shooting up behind them, Arnault and Beccari handed the Auld Mug to New Zealand skipper and helmsman Peter Burling and co-helmsman Nathan Outteridge, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
Preliminary attendance figures suggest more than 2.8 million people witnessed the regattas IRL from viewing areas around Port Vell and Port Olimpic, on beaches overlooking the race area, and at dedicated fan zones, hospitality suites and the race village.
The broadcast reach is still being tabulated, though organizers said they are confident of having increased the total audience by more than 50 percent versus the 2021 event in Auckland.
The latest races were broadcast free of charge in 208 countries via americascup.com, YouTube and Facebook.
The event got under way on Aug. 22, with four other boats — Alinghi Red Bull Racing, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, NYYC American Magic and Orient Express Racing — battling it out on the water.
Vuitton’s affiliation with yacht racing dates back to the birth in 1983 of the Louis Vuitton Cup, awarded to the winner of the eponymous qualifying-stage competition, which Ineos Brittania claimed on Oct. 4.
The luxury powerhouse has played a role in America’s Cup races in the U.S., Australia, Bermuda, Hong Kong, Dubai, France and Spain, burnishing the regattas’ visibility and prestige.
In an interview on Saturday, Beccari acknowledged that yacht racing is still something of an emerging sport, even if the Auld Mug Cup is considered the oldest international sports trophy in the world, first handed out in 1851.
A documentary in the works about this latest edition of the America’s Cup could do for sailing what the Netflix series “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” did for car racing — fan its global popularity, and attract younger generations and more women to the sport.
Beccari said the film, with “Free Solo” directors Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin on board as executive producers, is to be released sometime in 2025.
“This documentary should really give us a lot of visibility, hopefully, and a lot of goodwill to this sport, which is still not as known as many other sports,” he said.
He noted the competition offered drama galore, with several near collisions and a nosedive at high speed by Luna Rossa that caused catastrophic damage to that boat’s fairing. “They repaired it with Scotch tape, and they won the regatta. That was really an incredible moment that they lived here in Barcelona,” Beccari said.
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has been at the forefront this year in tightening ties between fashion and sports: signing on as a premium partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which wound up mid-September, and the day after Paris Fashion Week wound up Oct. 1, unveiling a deal as Formula 1’s global luxury partner for the next 10 years, starting with the 2025 season that begins next March with the Melbourne Grand Prix.
What’s more, Arnault family holding Agache recently confirmed it’s in exclusive talks to buy a majority stake in the Paris FC soccer club.
Meanwhile, many of LVMH’s flagship brands have tightened ties with athletes, from Maria Grazia Chiuri conscripting an elite archer for Dior’s spring 2025 women’s show, to Vuitton signing up a host of high-profile ambassadors including tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, basketball player Victor Wembanyama, and rugby player Antoine Dupont, all of whom won medals at the Paris Games.
Beccari estimated that Vuitton hosted a few thousand top clients during the Louis Vuitton and America’s Cup races, and that such affiliations increase the desirability of the brand.
“They were amazed, enthusiastic, and I think their loyalty is strengthened after they just spent time with us here,” he said.
A nautical-themed capsule collection in honor of the America’s Cup has virtually sold out since it went on sale online and in Vuitton boutiques in mid-July.
But moreover, “the values of the Cup are very close to the heart of Louis Vuitton, as it represents this desire to go beyond your capacity, to surpass yourself, and to innovate continuously,” Beccari said. “At the next edition, gosh knows what type of boats we are going to see.”
Asked when Vuitton might decide if it is to continue as title partner, Beccari repled: “When I will know the location, when I will know the type of boats on which they will race, and when I will know the economical conditions that [Dalton] and the defender team will present to us, so probably between now and the end of the first quarter of 2025.”
The America’s Cup typically takes place every three or four years. As defender and host, Emirates Team New Zealand is to establish the rules, boat design, racing format and location for the 38th edition.
Dalton has already confirmed that Great Britain’s Royal Yacht Squadron has stepped forward as the challenger of record. Great Britain founded the Cup, but has never won it.