The Cannes Yachting Festival closed its doors on Sunday 15 September after 6 exceptional days, with 55,000 visitors coming to see the yachting world.
In the setting like no other of the Bay of Cannes, more than 700 boats from 5 to 45 metres long, whether motor, sailing, monohull or multihull, were exhibited in the Vieux Port and Port Canto by the largest international boat builders. These featured more than 120 world premiers. On land the equipment manufacturers and service companies (electronics, designers, interior fittings, institutions, marinas, etc.) were set up on the outer quays and inside the Palais des Festivals to unveil their latest innovations. The 55,000 visitors with more than 130 nationalities came to see the boats in the water and on land, strolling along the quays of the Vieux Port and Port Canto discovering various innovations focused on developing the maritime economy and preserving the marine environment.
“The 47th edition of the Cannes Yachting Festival has just ended, and we are extremely proud of it. This year’s offer lived up to its promises, both on land and in the water. Our 640 exhibitors appreciated the facilities provided and visitor quality lived up to expectations.
This is the most important thing for us. Many eco-friendly innovations were also highlighted in all areas of the boat show, and visitors were keen to follow the “Innovation Route”, which showed that the sector can innovate.
The new Power Boat Marina in-water area at Port Canto was a real success. It gave many visitors the opportunity to discover these boats’ exhibition quality, some of whom took advantage of trying them out at sea. Both exhibitors and visitors loved the “power” atmosphere. After so much effort to achieve this, we are pleased with these results,” says Sylvie Ernoult, Director of the Cannes Yachting Festival.
A new configuration to showcase the 700 boats exhibited and provide a clearer, simplified way to visit the boat show
This year, the exhibition layout was modified in both ports, with 360 boats in the Vieux Port and 340 in Port Canto. This meant the way around the boat show had better flow, and the boats were better distributed and segmented resulting in visitors enjoying a better visitor experience. The Vieux Port remains the port where new 10- to 45-metre motor boats are moored, and equipment manufacturers and service companies dedicated to them are located.
This year, it accommodated more than 70 super yachts (>24 m long) on the Jetée and the Super Yachts Extension. Nevertheless, several improvements were implemented in the Vieux Port in 2024. The new main entrance was set up at the bottom of the steps to the Palais des Festivals, the tender area was presented as a “village”, the new tents of the engine manufacturers specialising in large yachts were installed along the beach, and an entrance was created on the Pantiero. Italy was in the spotlight at the heart of the Palais with four regional stands set up, A-MYC – ATIM – Marche Region, Azienda speciale Riviera di Liguria, Regione Piemonte – Piemonte Agency, Regione Puglia – Dipartimento Sviluppo Economico, bringing together more than 25 companies. At the other end of the Croisette, the sailing boats were moored in Port Canto in the area that has been dedicated to them since 2019.
120 new boats ranging from 10 to 28 metres long, with an average length of 16 metres, quay sails fluttering, were lined up for visitors to admire, marvelling at the sight. More than 20 of these big sailing boats were presented as world premiers. On land, visitors were also able to see a selection of equipment manufacturers and service companies fully dedicated to the sailing world. On the other side of Port Canto, visitors were able to admire 45 previously-owned yachts available for sale or hire. Areas on land displayed water toys, which are constantly developing towards sportier, more hightech, eco-friendly products with a higher design spec.
Port canto doubled in size with a new area dedicated to power boats being introduced
The Power Boat Marina, for new motor boats up to 12/13 metres long, was created in 2024. This new area, set up over nearly 3,000 m² on land and around 450 m of linear quay, brought together 175 boats (about thirty of which on land). The Power Boat Marina allowed visitors interested in this size of boat, whether with a rigid or semi-rigid hull, to see most of the motor boats available on the world market. From the typical Scandinavian model to the perfect dayboat for diving and gems of technology, visitors were able to experience the best in design, innovation and performance and enjoy the “power” atmosphere the new area created. A selection of off-board engines rounded out the exhibition on land. The Power Boat Marina was overlooked by the terrace of the VIP Club, located on the roof of the Harbour Master’s Office with a 180- degree view of all the boats on display on Port Canto. Being located between the Sailing and Yacht Brokerage & Toys areas, the Power Boat Marina made it possible to walk around a loop about 2.5 km long, moving easily from one quay to another, and one theme to another.
Activities in port canto
For the second year in a row, toys exhibitors put on demonstrations of their water toys in action. Standing on the pontoons, visitors were able to watch how to use e-foils, electric surfboards and other technological gems that provide thrilling fun at sea.
After these demonstrations, exhibitors and visitors could enjoy the happy hours in the Food Truck Village, and finish off the day in a social, festive atmosphere with live music.
Innovation for more responsible boating
The marine industry does not escape from environmental challenges and the need to meet the sector’s decarbonisation needs. Boat builders and equipment manufacturers are slowly but surely setting a course towards ecology. Technological and eco-friendly innovations are becoming more and more widespread in boating.
The Cannes Yachting Festival therefore naturally decided to contribute to this by highlighting the efforts and energy show exhibitors are putting into boat building, propulsion, waste management, end-of-life management, eco-design, optimisation, innovative materials, and so on, to build the future of the marine sector.In following the “Innovation Route”, identified by specific signage highlighting the products and initiatives that are moving in this direction, visitors were able to see the evolution that is underway, and
discovered the innovations and services that are part of this ecoresponsible approach.
The opening with ana-paula martin de oliveira, deputy mayor of cannes, and jean-paul chapeleau, chairman of the federation des industries nautiques
This year, the Cannes Yachting Festival was inaugurated in the presence of Ana-Paula Martins De Oliveira, Deputy Mayor of Cannes, Jean-Paul Chapeleau, President of the Fédération des Industries Nautiques (French Marine Industry Federation), Sylvie Ernoult, Director of the Cannes Yachting Festival, accompanied by Hugh Jones, Michel Filzi and Filippo Réan, respectively CEO of RX, President and Managing Director of RX France, as well as many Cannes officials and French professionals in the marine industry. In particular, the delegation visited the new set-up in Port Canto and cut the ribbon at the VIP Club installed on the roof of the Harbour Master’s Office.
Acknowledgements to partners
For the Cannes Yachting Festival 2024, the VIP Clubs of the Vieux Port and Port Canto were decorated by
Roche Bobois, a French manufacturer of high-end furniture. The official car service was provided by MercedesByMyCar. Champagne house Louis Roederer had the opportunity to serve its “Collection 244” cuvée for visitors to enjoy.
Exceptional technical partners and suppliers work alongside them and have been contributing their cuttingedge expertise to the successful running of the boat show for many years: Focus Yachts provided the boats used for the VIP sea shuttle service between the two ports; Pantaenius provided the boats for the organising team loaned by Yamaha; MG Energy exhibited its battery systems; Pixelight installed the LED screens at the entrances to the show and Mercury installed the motors on the traversantes to open and close them.
