DAY ONE of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers and the official opening ceremony of the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda have had to be postponed due to strong winds.

Tomorrow (Saturday) and the days following are all forecast to have significantly improved weather conditions, so the four races which were scheduled to take place today (Friday) will now be added to the race schedules for the subsequent days.

The official opening ceremony of the 35th America’s Cup will now take place tomorrow (Saturday), following the three time Grammy award winning entertainer Wyclef Jean’s performance on the Main Stage in the America’s Cup Village.

America’s Cup Event Authority chief executive Sir Russell Coutts said: “We are obviously disappointed that the strong winds mean we have had to postpone day one of the 35th America’s Cup.

“This is clearly a decision we have not taken lightly and appreciate the inconvenience caused to the sellout crowd.

“Our primary concern, however, is always safety for everyone involved in the America’s Cup.

“We are adding an hour to the race window on both Saturday and Sunday to run extra races with the aim of getting back on schedule.”