Felipe VI will preside today at the Maritime Museum of Barcelona over the institutional welcoming ceremony for the thirty-seventh edition of the America’s Cup, which will be held in Barcelona until October 27. He will do so after visiting the Nou Port Olímpic, in the Moll del Gregal, recently renovated for the celebration of this sporting competition, as reflected in the official agenda of the Royal Family sent by Zarzuela.
This is the first visit of the king in Catalonia after the change of government in the Generalitat, the first time in a democracy that a nationalist or pro-independence party does not occupy, alone or in coalition, the Catalan Executive. In recent decades, with the last twelve years with a clearly pro-independence executive, and with the figure of the head of state in the spotlight.
The King’s Speech of October 3 The year 2017 demanding the restoration of legality in Catalonia marked the point of greatest disagreement between a part of the citizens and the monarchy. However, in recent years, and in parallel with the loss of vigor and support of the “process”, the visits of the king and the rest of the members of the royal family have become normal.
Protocol
Today’s visit will also serve to assess the return to institutional normality in the community, which the new president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, wants to show. Until now, the previous presidents of the Generalitat and the former mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, attended the events in which the monarch participated, but they were absent from the line of authorities who received the king upon his arrival at the different events.
At the Maritime Museum, the King will preside over the institutional welcoming ceremony for the thirty-seventh edition of the Sailing America’s Cup. The bases of the teams of the America’s Cupwhose regattas will take place in front of Barcelona’s beach, will extend across the entire Port Vell, and this year’s edition will feature youth and women’s regattas. Considered the oldest sporting competition in the world, the America’s Cup dates back to 1851.
