Following a two-year absence, the Cannes Yachting Festival closed on Sunday 12 September following 6 days of exhibiting. It was buoyed by energy and enthusiasm shared by all the exhibitors, visitors, service providers and organisers. The Yachting Festival was the first boat show in Europe to reopen its doors and was particularly well attended. It brought together 575 exhibitors, 620 boats (including 141 world previews) and 54,400 visitors, 50% from abroad, who came to admire the best there is in French and international motor, sailing, monohull or multihull boats.

The 2021 edition visitor numbers are identical to those of the 2019 edition, which was a record year.

The Festival managed to be successfully built in a difficult context throughout the year and offer a wealth of content in terms of the number of brands, new products and types of boat, products and services. Despite the travel restrictions the current health situation imposed for certain countries, the Festival not only welcomed clients from Europe, but visitors from all over the world.

The Yachting Festival was distributed between both of Cannes’ ports for the second time, the Vieux Port and Port Canto, and kept all its promises.

Following a two-year absence, the Cannes Yachting Festival closed on Sunday 12 September following 6 days of exhibiting. It was buoyed by energy and enthusiasm shared by all the exhibitors, visitors, service providers and organisers.

“Our – ambitious – aim for the Festival which was prepared while Covid is still here was to do as well as the 2019 edition in terms of the number of exhibitors, boats and visitors. If the total number of exhibitors (-7%) and boats (-4%) was slightly down on 2019, the number of boats presented as world previews was up by 10% and the number of visitors was the same which is very positive during this time. We are proud of and happy with these results. This edition represented a real challenge at each stage of its organisation. We constantly took new organisation constraints into account as the legislation developed and we worked closely and efficiently with the Alpes-Maritimes prefect, the Grasse subprefect and their departments, whom I thank. The more the opening date approached, the more we felt the motivation, enthusiasm, and growing impatience of our exhibitors and visitors to meet up in Cannes again. This edition was an incredible one to prepare and experience, as much for them as for my team and myself. My memory of this edition will be that it was an incredible human experience. 2021 will remain unforgettable in many ways”! concludes Sylvie Ernoult, Director of the Yachting Festival.

EACH PORT HAS ITS OWN ACTIVITY SECTOR AND NEW PRODUCTS

The Vieux Port is entirely dedicated to those in the motor industry with more than 480 3- to 50-metre boats, and welcomed the brand-new space reserved for fully electric or hybrid boats with a dozen boats by Boote Marian, Candela Speed Boats, E-Sense of Blue, Ecoline, Say Carbon Yachts, Vita Yachts and X-Shore…, a marina for motor multihulls and a trial area (located outside the visit circuit) to make sea trials easier and make the Festival safe by reducing maritime traffic inside the port.

Remaining in the Vieux Port, inside the Palais, the Luxury Gallery brought together an exclusive selection of famous and more exclusive brands that came to present their new products and knowledge to visitors who appreciate beautiful objects and high-end services.

At the other end of the Croisette, the new sailing boats were moored in Port Canto for the second consecutive edition, in a dedicated space, which brought together 110 10- to 35-metre boats, including 20 presented as world previews. It is a magical setting for a unique “sailing” ambiance with masts reaching skywards and the noise of the guys, flags and colours snapping in the wind…
In terms of new products, Port Canto welcomed the Innovation Space, in partnership with Mer Angels and BNP Paribas Banque Privée, to showcase “intelligent” start-ups in the nautical sector. From boat design to putting owners in contact with captains, these start-ups share the same values of supporting and developing the sea economy, all while protecting the seafaring space.
Visitors were also able to discover the Yacht Brokerage Area in Port Canto which accommodated thirty 22- to 56-metre previously owned boats in-water, available for sale or hire. The space on land was occupied by the nautical toys which have become must-have accessories for big yachts or for a day at the beach. Toys are constantly developing towards products that have heightened design, and are more sporty, technical and eco-responsible.

GREEN ROUTE: A GREEN CIRCUIT FROM ONE END OF LA CROISETTE TO THE OTHER

The nautical sector has been becoming aware of the consequences of its activity on the environment. Despite restrictive international rules aiming to protect natural environments, change remains slow.
To contribute to this eco-friendly transition, this year the Festival proposed a Green circuit, showcasing more than 50 exhibitors developing or presenting a concept in favour of ecology, which attracted crowds curious to discover the technologies that will represent the nautical activities of tomorrow.

THE FRENCH MINISTER OF THE SEA, ANNICK GIRARDIN, IN ATTENDANCE

The French Minister of the Sea inaugurated the Yachting Festival in the presence of David Lisnard, Mayor of Cannes, Anne Franckowiak-Jacobs, Subprefect of the Grasse administrative district, Jean-Pierre Savarino, President of the Nice-Côte d’Azur CCI, Hugh Jones and Michel Filzi respectively Presidents of RX and RX France, Yves Lyon-Caen, President of the Fédération des Industries Nautiques, and Sylvie Ernoult, director of the Yachting Festival and many officials.
After having cut the traditional ribbon, the Minister of the Sea visited exhibitors in the Port Canto and Vieux Port spending time on the stands, visiting boats and talking to professionals.

A CARBON FOOTPRINT BEING IMPROVED

The Yachting Festival has undertaken an ecological transition by improving its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) through implementing new actions to reduce its event activity’s environmental impact, guided by an approach of the RX group at international level.
- many documents, which are usually printed, were made paperless (Festival tickets, official magazine) or dropped (the visitor map which was included in the Festival catalogue, Sailing Guide, VIP Guide)
- use of recycled and/or recyclable materials (Press Villages furniture in recycled and recyclable cardboard, recyclable carpet on the aisles and stands, most of the Festival signage recyclable)
The Festival caterers, service providers and exhibitors’ undertakings join this.

THE CONCOURS D’ÉLÉGANCE

The 2021 edition of the Concours d’Elegance took place on Saturday 11 September at 4 pm in front of the Palais des Festival Beach at the Vieux Port.
A unique selection of 11 modern (after 1980) dayboats, with their captains at the helm, accompanied by their elegant crews, paraded along the Festival Beach under the admiring eyes of enthusiasts and the more watchful ones of a jury of experts, made up of:
• Madame Sylvie Ernoult - Directrice du Yachting Festival de Cannes
• Monsieur Dominique Gabirault – Journaliste et passionné
• Monsieur Geoffroy Langlade – Directeur de MAXIBOAT TV
• Monsieur Matthijs Rhee – Influenceur @mrsuperyachts
2021 WINNERS
1st: “Frauscher 1212 GHOST” – 1212 GHOST, from the FRAUSCHER shipyard – 2021
2nd: “Laneva Vesper 001” – Vesper, from the LANÉVA BOATS shipyard – 2020
3rd: “Louise” – 16’ Gentleman’s Runabout, privately-owned boat from the SKOL AR MOOR naval shipyard – 2020
HIGHLY COMMENDED 2021
“Gulf” – Damsko 750, from the LEKKER BOATS shipyard – 2021

KEY FIGURES 2021
VISITORS
54 400 visitors
EXHIBITORS
575
BOATS
620 boats of which :
• 113 sailing boats `
• 507 motor boats
• In-water : 518
• On land : 102
• At the Vieux Port : 480
• At Port Canto : 140