As we countdown to the 35th America’s Cup The Royal Gazette will bring you a series of fun facts about the boats, the sailors, the crew, and the history of this illustrious competition. There are now seven days until the month-long sporting spectacle gets under way.

All the talk, all the practice, all the preparation; it all comes down to this. The 35th America’s Cup gets under way in just a week’s time with Oracle Team USA and Groupama Team France sailing in the first race of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers.

There will be four races on the first day, starting at 5pm, with Artemis Racing taking on SoftBank Team Japan in race two, Team France back in action against Emirates Team New Zealand in race three, and Land Rover BAR bringing things to a close against Artemis in the last race of the day.

It will be an action-packed start to the America’s Cup, with the opening ceremony following the racing, and taking the party well into the evening.

Saturday and Sunday are scheduled to be equally busy, with four races due to take place on both days, the highlights of which will come in the first and last race on Saturday when Oracle Team USA face Team New Zealand and BAR respectively.

With BAR and Team New Zealand both expected to be pushing for a spot in the 35th America’s Cup Match their first meeting in the third race on the Sunday is also a highly anticipated event.