The Vilamoura Marina was home to 400 sailors of 34 nationalities, almost a hundred coaches and dozens of people involved in organising the European Championships in the 49er, 49er FX and Nacra 17 classes.

The event that marked the start of the competition at these Europeans also included representatives from Loulé Town Hall, the IPDJ, Vilamoura Marina, the Portuguese Sailing Federation and Vilamoura Sailing, the organisers of this event.

These European Championships are also qualifying events for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, thus making the 18 races scheduled for each fleet even more competitive.

This is the first time that an Olympic qualifying event for three classes has been held simultaneously in Portugal.