The capital of Mallorca will be the epicentre of the first regatta of the Olympic year, featuring all 10 classes that will compete in Paris 2024 from the end of July 2024. More than 300 teams from over fifty countries have already registered to take part in the 53rd edition of the Princess Sofia Trophy Mallorca by Iberostar. The eagerly awaited regatta will take place from 29 March to 6 April in the bay of Palma, the capital of the Spanish province of the Balearic Islands.

With less than two months to go before the start of the Mallorcan classic, considered a world benchmark for Olympic classes, it will be the first regatta of the year to bring together the ten disciplines of the Paris 2024 Games in the same Mediterranean waters. This event will be crucial in the athletes' final preparations for their Paris Olympic dream. From 29 March to 6 April 2024, the top specialists in the women's disciplines ILCA 6, 49er FX, iQFOiL Women and Formula Kite Women, the men's disciplines ILCA 7, 49er, iQFOiL Men and Formula Kite Men, and the mixed disciplines 470 and Nacra 17 will compete in the most important of the five Spanish Balearic Islands.

"We are in an Olympic year, and the Sofia will be the first multi-class event where all participants in Paris 2024 will come together to compete before the start of the Games in July," explains Ferrán Muniesa, the event's sports director. "It will be a key event in the Olympic arena, a true dress rehearsal where athletes can test themselves against their rivals whom they will face on the regatta course in Marseille. Moreover, for many countries, it is a definitive date to select their representatives for Paris 2024."

This is the case for host nation Spain, as confirmed by Xisco Gil, Director of Olympic Preparation for the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation: "It will be practically the only competition where the entire Spanish team will be competing. It is one of the highest level competitions in terms of participation and countries, and it will allow us to see where we are in the final stretch to the Games. On the other hand, it is the last observation competition for those classes in which the Spanish representative for the Games has not yet been chosen, and it will help us to know if the male kite discipline is capable of qualifying the country in Hyères in two weeks' time. Without a doubt, it is a benchmark regatta."

The 53rd edition of the Princess Sofia Trophy Mallorca by Iberostar is jointly organised by the Club Nàutic S'Arenal, the Club Marítimo San Antonio de la Playa, the Real Club Náutico de Palma, the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation and the Balearic Sailing Federation, with the support of World Sailing and the main public institutions of the Balearic Islands.