America's Cup Opening Day postponed until Saturday 27th May

America's Cup Opening Day postponed to Saturday 27th May © ACEA 2017 / Ricardo Pinto

The America's Cup Event Authority (ACEA), and America's Cup Race Management (ACRM), have announced that the strong winds in Bermuda have meant that day one of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers and the Official Opening Ceremony of the 35th America's Cup have had to be postponed.

Forecasts indicate that winds may gust over 30 knots during the afternoon and evening, so with the safety of the sailors and spectators as the key priority, ACEA and ACRM have decided to postpone Friday's events. Saturday 27th May and the days following are all forecast to have significantly improved weather conditions, so the four races scheduled to take place on Friday 26th May will now be added to the race schedules for the subsequent days.

The Official Opening Ceremony of the 35th America's Cup will now take place on Saturday 27th May, starting at 8.30pm, following the three time Grammy Award winning entertainer Wyclef Jean's performance on the Main Stage in the America's Cup Village which starts at 5.15pm. The America's Cup Village will close at 9.30pm. Gates open at 11.30am on Saturday 27th May, with racing due to take place between 2pm and 5pm.

Sir Russell Coutts, CEO of the ACEA, said, "We are obviously disappointed that the strong winds mean we have had to postpone day one of the 35th America's Cup. This is clearly a decision we have not taken lightly and appreciate the inconvenience caused to the sellout crowd. Our primary concern however, is always safety for everyone involved in the America's Cup. We are adding an hour to the race window on both Saturday and Sunday to run extra races with the aim of getting back on schedule. There are still tickets available at the weekend, although not in all categories, so we are hoping Friday's ticket holders will still get the chance to enjoy what should be an incredible opening weekend."

Tickets

As the America's Cup Village will not open on 26th May, all ticket holders for the America's Cup Village, Grandstand seats, Goslings Dark 'n Stormy Island Bar and Longtail Lounge and Official Spectator Boat ticket holders will automatically receive a refund within the next ten days. Should those ticket holders wish to attend another day, tickets will need to be purchased separately for this day and can be booked at www.americascup.com/tickets.

Transport

Ticketholders for Friday's ferry will also receive a full refund. Ticketholders for Saturday's ferry can also rebook their ticket to a new time, should they wish, now that the Opening Ceremony is on Saturday.

Additional direct ferry runs to the America's Cup Village before and after racing have been added to the Saturday schedule to increase capacity, and there are some updates in the existing timetable due to the changes in the America's Cup schedule, which will be communicated directly to those existing ticketholders, or can be found at www.acbda.bm. To book tickets please go to www.americascup.com/tickets

Additional ferry runs will also be added to the regular public schedule from Hamilton to the Dockyard Ferry terminal on Saturday. From Dockyard, the public can either get a free shuttle train from in front of the Clocktower Mall, or walk over to the America's Cup Village.

America's Cup Bermuda, CEO Mike Winfield says, "We are grateful for the excellent working relationship we have with Marine & Ports and we thank them for their flexibility in ensuring that America's Cup spectators have a reliable and convenient way to get to the America's Cup Village. We recognize this is a late change due to weather and it likely won't be the last. We are very pleased to see the strong team work and dedication from Marine and Ports."

Other means of transport are by motorbike and private cars. As Saturday may be a sellout, locals are also encouraged to ride their motorbike to the event as motorbikes can park for FREE and there is plenty of room at the Transportation Hub, near the entrance to America's Cup Village. More bikes on the road will likely ease traffic and parking congestion in the west end of the island.

The America's Cup Park n Ride program ($25 per car for all passengers, when booked in advance) must be pre-booked at Boaz Island Sports Field. It is $30 if booked within 12-hours of use. Once this is fully booked, the next parking area will become available for booking. Book your Park n Ride at www.americascup.com/tickets

Additional parking lots are available once Boaz Island Sports Field is fully booked. These are: Warren Simmons Field near Somerset Marketplace and Somerset Primary. All locations will be serviced by minibus shuttles to deliver you from your car directly to the Transportation Hub at the America's Cup Event Village.

Please stay tuned to all America's Cup channels for event updates: www.americascup.com, Twitter and Facebook: @americascup. Ongoing transportation information and updates are available at: www.acbda.bm/transport and please follow America's Cup Bermuda on Twitter @AC2017BDA for real-time updates.