America's Cup: Portsmouth will host preparation event

Hundreds of thousands of people watched the race in 2016

Portsmouth will host a preparation event for yachting's 36th America's Cup next year.

The America's Cup World Series (ACWS) races will take place in the city from 4 to 7 June 2020.

When it hosted the races in 2015 and 2016, 250,000 people watched them along Southsea seafront.

Portsmouth-based INEOS TEAM UK, led by Olympic gold medallist Sir Ben Ainslie, will take part in the race.

Another ACWS race will take place in Cagliari, Sardinia, in April 2020 and a third will take place in Auckland, New Zealand in March 2021.

They will be followed by the Prada Cup Challenger Selection Series to choose which yacht club will take on the defender of the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand.

Teams will compete to take on the reigning champions from New Zealand next year

Councillor Steve Pitt, Portsmouth City Council's cabinet member for culture and city development, said: "America's Cup events attract a worldwide audience and we're looking forward to the city's waterfront being centre stage for this esteemed international sailing event."

Sir Ben said: "It's so great that Portsmouth has been chosen as only one of two locations outside of New Zealand where people can watch the AC75 foiling monohulls in action.

"We are confident the racing will deliver a true spectacle."