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It’s on, it’s off. It might be on. Maybe, possibly; Probably not. Who knows? Well we do, sort of. Like many, we are trying to pick our way through the forthcoming boat show and events calendar, and make commitments that can be cancelled, book travel that can be refunded and, basically, plan for the unknown.
If you’ve lost track of the boat show calendar, here’s a little round up of recent cancellations, confirmations and new additions.
SOUTHAMPTON BOAT SHOW
Whilst not typically regarded a superyacht show, for the UK yachting industry the Southampton Boat Show is a biggie. With the likes of Sunseeker and Princess having ventured into superyacht territory in recent years, there’s a good deal of business to be done here. BUT, British Marine have announced that in light of government guidelines on large-scale gatherings, the 2020 Southampton Boat Show will not be going ahead.
British Marine have muted that a smaller-scale, outdoor-only event may take its place but as yet, no details have been announced.
CANNES YACHTING FESTIVAL
Despite the cancellation of its regional neighbour, Reed Exhibitions Group – the organisers of Cannes Yachting Festival – confirm that the 43rd edition of the show will take place as planned, September 8th – 13th. The show will again stretch across Cannes’ two ports and the layout takes into account all advisable measures in accordance with preventing Covid-19 pandemic spread. This includes management of the visitor flow throughout the two sites, the wearing of face masks, hand sanitizer stations and continual cleaning of common areas.
The Cannes Yachting Festival has taken place every September since 1977, and big-name exhibitors already confirmed for this year include Azimut Benetti, Fairline, Ferretti Group, Majesty (Gulf Craft), Mangusta, Nautor’s Swan, North Sails, Pantaenius Insurance, Princess Yachts, Sanlorenzo, Sunreef, Sunseeker, Vanquish and Wally.
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MONACO YACHT SHOW
Monaco Yacht Show made the announcement on June 26th that this year’s show, the celebratory 30th edition, would be postponed to 2021. There was significant pressure placed on the organisers by leading industry names and associations (such as LYBRA and SYBAss) to abandon this year’s plans in both the interest of public safety and companies industry-wide whose finances had been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Informa Markets, the international events company responsible for Monaco Yacht Show, cited disruption to the annual cruising calendar as the reason for its postponement, with many superyachts remaining in the US and Caribbean.
Coinciding with its break from the 2020 boat show calendar, Informa Markets has opted to join a Superyacht Industry Taskforce, which will review how yacht shows are run in the future and seek to better serve the objectives of owners, shipyards, brokers and suppliers.
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FLIBS
The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, also part of the Informa Group, is still tabled to go ahead, October 28th to November 1st.
Set to continue for the second year, is the show’s Superyacht Village. This in-water and shore-side enclave will accommodate the largest yachts in show, as well as personal submarines, luxury cars and helicopters.
With travel to the US still largely advised against by most European countries however, and many wary to visit the US whilst Covid-19 case numbers remain so high, it may end up being a rather local show for local people…
BOAT INTERNATIONAL YACHTING FESTIVAL
Following disruption to events that were planned for earlier this year, Boat International has opted to unite three of its headline annual events into a three-day Yachting Festival, to take place in Monaco, November 11th – 13th.
The event, which encompasses two of Boat International’s annual conferences – Life Under Sail and the Explorer Yachts Summit – as well as the 2020 World Superyacht Awards, will bring superyacht owners, senior industry stakeholders and top-tier professionals together.
THE SUPERYACHT FORUM
The Superyacht Group have confirmed that they plan to run their annual conference, The Superyacht Forum, in Amsterdam this November.
The theme for this year’s is ‘One Industry, One Forum, One Mission’, and the event will provide an opportunity for the industry’s greatest minds to map out how the superyacht sector should refocus itself in the wake of its toughest challenge to date.
Martin Redmayne, Chairman of The Superyacht Group, comments, “Obviously due to Covid-19, we will have to follow social distancing rules, but we will still deliver a powerful Forum.” He expects delegate places to be limited, perhaps to around 350, but remains confident that the forum will retain its popularity with industry leaders, investors and CEOs. Redmayne adds, “This year we will have the added dimension of live streaming, meaning that hundreds of delegates from around the world who cannot join us, will still be able to participate in the debate.”
The Superyacht Forum takes place November 16th – 18th.
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METSTRADE
Being an all-indoor event, November’s METSTRADE is undoubtedly going to look a little different this year, but both the organisers and host venue (Amsterdam’s RAI) are confident that their ‘safe, responsible and hospitable’ protocol will permit them to deliver a successful show that remains valuable to both exhibitors and attendees.
METSTRADE will take place November 17th – 19th, and is the world’s largest trade exhibition of marine equipment, materials and systems. The show has served as a platform for innovation, market developments and networking since its launch in 1988.
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