The Cannes Boat Show, September 7-12, 2021, is saved. But it risked paralysis. A bitter five-year court battle pitted the current organizer, event giant RX(Reed Expositions), against FIN (Federation of French Marine Industries), which wanted to replace it in organizing.
RX continues to organize the Cannes Motor Show
The Paris Court of Appeals has ruled definitively that until 2041 RX will continue to organize the Cannes Yachting Festival. Thus, the claims of the association of French marine companies FIN, which would have liked to take the reins in organizing the event, were rejected.
Cannes salon is big business
The business is big, huge. The Cannes Yachting Festival, in spite of “only” 54,000 visitors (2019) compared to 150,000 at the Genoa Boat Show and 410,000 virtual our virtual boat show Milan Yachting Week is the one with the highest turnover among the fall boat shows, second only to the world’s largest, Dusseldorf, which, however, takes place in January.
Organizing the Cannes Yachting Festival is a gluttonous business, and this is the main reason behind one of the bitterest court battles in memory of boating.
French producers vs. events giant
It all stemmed from the request of the federation that brings together French nautical companies, which, as a mere partner of the Cannes show, wanted to organize it directly, cutting out RX (Reed Expositions), a global multinational that organizes more than 400 events in 43 different sectors in 22 countries. FIN is also a powerhouse with 5,600 member companies and member turnover of 5.3 billion euros.
In addition, FIN already has recent but less successful experience as a salon organizer. Since 2017, it has been directly organizing the Paris Boat Show, Nautic, which takes place this year from December 4 to 12.
The Nautic has lost its luster in recent years, “eaten up” by the success of the German show in Dusseldorf. From being an international flagship show, today the Parisian Nautic has become a local show and is in danger of going the way of the London Boat Show, which was cancelled years ago. Perhaps this is also one of the reasons why the French federation unsuccessfully tried to take over the organization of the Cannes Yachting Festival.
Why the Cannes Yachting Festival matters so much
The French September show has so many reasons to be so appetizing. Although it has a relatively low attendance, those who visit are the best of the target audience, those who want to buy a boat and not take a trip. The French Riviera then is the world’s leading market for boating. To top it off, the whole town of Cannes turns into a large boat show spread along the Promenade by the sea.
And it is here that nautical manufacturers from around the world come together to present their new products for the coming season. This year 470 exhibitors, 560 in-water and on-shore boats from 3 to 45 meters with 150 new innovations are announced for September.
