America's Cup: 80,000 fans celebrate their Cup heroes in the "City of Sails"

22 years after the last triumphant parade and 14 years after losing the silver jug, New Zealanders today celebrated their America's Cup heroes on the streets of Auckland and in the former Cup harbour Viaduct Harbour. Prime Minister Bill English congratulated Emirates Team New Zealand in front of the cheering crowd: "Thank you for your professionalism, your dedication, your excellence and for showing the world the best that comes from a small country at the end of the world."

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The visibly moved team boss Grant Dalton, for whom the almost one-and-a-half-decade-long Cup chase ended with a happy ending after serious setbacks, said: "What an incredible team. An incredible team! What they have achieved can only be described as phenomenal and against all odds!" Peter Burling simply posted a section of the world map on Facebook showing New Zealand with a red arrow and wrote: "There's no place like home."

In the Viaduct harbour, hundreds of small and large boats with thousands of onlookers had formed a triumphant fleet to greet them. Around 80,000 fans had previously crowded Queens Street in Auckland and the harbour area during the parade. In a very private round, the members of Emirates Team New Zealand filled the ornate silver jug with champagne after the several-hour-long celebratory parade and toasted the Kiwis' third Cup victory after 1995 and 2000, before the team took the jug back to where it had been on display for eight years: the New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

In the coming days, skipper Glenn Ashby, helmsman Peter Burling and Emirates Team New Zealand also want to thank their compatriots in other cities in New Zealand for their great support from home. Further parades and presentations are planned for Tuesday in Wellington, Wednesday in Christchurch and Thursday in Dunedin.

On the sidelines of the celebrations, it leaked out that the team's stars are already being courted by international Cup campaigns. Skipper Glenn Ashby confirmed that he had received several calls. However, Emirates Team New Zealand have said that they want to stay together and defend the Cup together. One fan said: "This time we have to keep it. Whatever the cost." The New Zealanders remember only too well what happened when their former superstar Russell Coutts and his companions left Team New Zealand after the successful defence in 2000 in a dispute over the future direction of the team and switched to the Swiss team Alinghi. The Kiwis were defeated by the Swiss three years later and lost the America's Cup to Europe. From New Zealand's point of view, this chapter in Cup history should not be repeated.

However, Grant Dalton is not afraid of another bloodletting and told the New Zealand Herald: "We are a strong team with great cohesion. We have no politics, no egos. So it's a team that everyone wants to be part of. Of course, you can never be sure when someone is waving a giant cheque. There will be an element of nationality in our protocol. When that kicks in, it won't be impossible, but it will be difficult for members to move to another team." And Dalton had something else to consider: "We are the defenders. We're already in the Cup. We have a great design team. Why would anyone want to switch?"

What will happen next with the America's Cup? Team boss Grant Dalton and his team, in consultation with the Italian Challenger of Record, want to announce this in the coming days. The sailing world is eagerly awaiting the decision on the next boat type: will it be on modified catamarans in the current style or on foiling monohull yachts in the future?

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