Places have changed for the largest boat show on the water in Europe, as construction is underway in the old city harbor of Cannes. That means: no room for boats. The open space facing the sea above Quai Max Laubeuf, where series boat manufacturers from Axopar to Zodiac exhibited their new products until 2023, is in urgent need of renovation. Now these premieres have to make way. Large motor yachts over 12 meters in length will remain in the Vieux Port, as will the exhibition areas in the palace, where celebrities usually hold court at the film festival.
In 2024 and the following years, all motorboats under 12 meters in length will move to Port Canto, the second city port of Cannes. Many of the boats that qualified for the final of the Best of Boats Award can now also be seen in Port Canto. This was previously reserved for sailing yachts and is located at the end of the magnificent Croisette promenade. There is plenty of room here for all premieres with a budget of less than 1 million euros. For all the splendor and practicality of two marinas, the new hotspot Port Canto is a good two kilometers away from the previous epicenter of the show.
How to organize the days in Cannes?
The three most important things first: light shoes, a sun hat and a water bottle. If you don’t just want to stroll around, but would like to visit specific boats and manufacturers, you should get your bearings beforehand. Harbor maps, which you can pick up at the entrance, are a great help in finding your way around. The results can be saved in the digital exhibitor catalog, which is not always complete, including the boat directory, and downloaded to your cell phone.
float is free
... and openly readable for everyone. Support us now as a 💙 float friend to keep it that way. Your contribution makes float strong. I'm in!The way from one spot to another leads across the water. Covered shuttle boats connect the two marines from 10 a.m., when the show starts for the public. Every 15 minutes, three lines serve the two jetties of the Port Canto at the Vieux Port.
One line will run with small shuttles (maximum 12 people – departing from the Palais des Festivals), one line will use medium-sized boats for 70 to 100 people) and one line will run as a large shuttle (max. 100 to 200 people). These start at the superyachts and – near the bascule bridge – at Quai Max Laubeuf.
Attention: If you want to look at motorboats and are not interested in the brokerage offers, get out together with the sailors and walk towards the harbor master’s building. The traditional sailing yachts are moored directly to the left of the pier, the multihulls opposite towards the Croisette.
What the audience is offered
The Cannes Yachting Festival is also an important sailing yacht show. The trade fair organizers themselves claim to be “the world’s No. 1 show for large sailing boats”, and the numbers according to the list of exhibitors are impressive.
With 153 boats, Cannes significantly outperforms the world’s largest boat show, boot Düsseldorf (92 entries for 2024). The Annapolis Sailboat Show, which takes place on the US coast in October, lists 136 boats (50 multihulls, 86 monohulls).
The Solaris 40 ST and the Explorer version of the Elan GT 6 will be among the world premieres on show. The Grand Soleil 52 Performance bridges the gap between the Grand Soleil 40 and 44 Performance and Grand Soleil 44 Performance and the large semi-custom models such as the 65 Long Cruise. Another world first is the Hanse 590, the largest model from the Greifswald shipyard. Also announced as European premieres are rather large sailing yachts, including the Thira 80 from Fountaine Pajot.
The Sunbeam 29, the X-Yachts XC 4.7, Saffier 33 Life, the Dragonfly 40 and the Hallberg Rassy 69 will be on show for the first time in Cannes – for all those who missed these boats in Germany.
