Cannes Yachting Festival: The Round-up

After six exhibition days and despite an opening day somewhat disrupted by rain, the 42nd edition of the Cannes Yachting Festival closed its doors on Sunday 15 September having set new records for participation, thereby consolidating its position as Europe’s leading in-water boat show.

A record number of visitors and a very popular sailing area

This edition, marked by the new in-water configuration with new motorboats in the Vieux Port and a new Sailing Area at Port Canto, received 54,000 individual visitors, up sharply compared to 2018.

Yachting enthusiasts, experienced and novice sailors alike, and professionals from the sector were able to enjoy the improved and simplified visitor itinerary on both ports and made extensive use of the land and sea shuttles. At Port Canto, the “land” entrance registered 15,000 visitors and the numerous sea shuttles carried almost 16,000 persons from the Vieux Port.

A promising future for this new setting exclusively for new large monohull and multihull yachts at Port Canto

The choice of Reed Expositions to play host in Port Canto to the world’s biggest event for large new and inwater yachts was both daring and necessary as Sylvie Ernoult, Director of the Yachting Festival, explained at the press conference on Tuesday 10 September: “The shipyards’ demands for more in-water space to be able to exhibit more boats in even better conditions were met with over 400 linear metres of quayside dedicated to monohulls and over 400 metres dedicated to multihulls.

“On land, the Yachting Festival’s loyal “Sailing” exhibitors and the builders and equipment manufacturers in this sector shared the 4,000sqm quayside area offered by this new space, twice the surface area that was available in 2018! A perfect stage for the biggest global in-water showcase for new super yachts. With its wide quays, Port Canto provided large walkways to the Sailing Area, with enhanced comfort and visibility on one side for the 120 new monohull and multihull sailing boats on show in-water and, on the other side, for the stands of the shipyards, equipment manufacturers and service companies.

“Numerous visitors strolled along the quays of the Sailing Area, resulting in a total number of some 30,000 visits. The initial feedback and comments, heard on the pontoons from both exhibitors and visitors, are extremely positive. Our aim to create the biggest in-water exhibition in the world for new sailing boats has been achieved and the promise has been kept. I would like to thank exhibitors and visitors for their participation in the success of this first edition of the Sailing Area.

“With the exhibitors, our partners and our teams, we shall very soon embark on debriefing all interested parties: clients, partners, City of Cannes, NCA CCI and service providers to consolidate the foundations laid this year and work on the 2020 edition and any points for improvement.”

A successful facelift for the Vieux port

With the opening of the Sailing Area, the Vieux Port is now entirely dedicated to the ultimate in motorboats. This new organisation resulted in improved navigation between the various categories of boats. Some 480 boats were on show on land and in-water this year, ranging in length between 2 and 48 metres. The offer is now clearer and has dedicated spaces: the Pantiero terrace is for boats from 14 to 20 metres, RIBs are at the centre of the event, while Quai Max Laubeuf hosts the brand new village dedicated to outboard and in-board engines.

New attendance for the brokerage and toys area

The Brokerage Area, located in Port Canto for nearly 15 years, welcomes the major French and international players in the second-hand yacht market. This year, some fifty motorboats and sailing boats from 22 to 65 metres in length were on show. These large boats, available for immediate sale, are also available for hire or to lease. The Toys Area has featured at Port Canto since 2018, opposite the second-hand luxury yachts, and displays on land an increasingly broad selection of sport, fun, and nautical activities equipment. This year it included a large collection of jetboards, longboards and jet skis including several electric motor models, and many other things besides. Boosted by the presence of the Sailing Area, the Brokerage and Toys sectors saw an increase in their visitor numbers.”

Luxury gallery

Located in the heart of the legendary Palais des Festivals, the Luxury Gallery, a space dedicated to the excellence, unique know-how, craftsmanship and lifestyle of renowned and more exclusive brands, celebrated its fourth anniversary this year and welcomed, on its 800sqm of stands, more than 40 exhibitors present to meet high-end visitors who are interested in exceptional products and services.

Success of the events organised

With the opening of the Sailing Area at Port Canto, the 42nd edition of the Yachting Festival wanted to honour sailing in all its richness and diversity by inviting famous sailors and navigators, creating special events open to all and offering free tickets for visitors each morning from 10am to 11am from the Sailing Area.