A new development project for the 2024 edition of the Cannes Yachting Festival
by Cannes Yachting Festival 14 Sep 2023 09:42 PDT
Port Canto © Cannes Yachting Festival
While the 46th edition of the Cannes Yachting Festival, Europe's biggest in-water boat show, is under way in the Vieux Port and Port Canto, the management of show organiser RX France has just presented its layout project for September 2024 to exhibitors.
The major renovation and modernisation plan for the Vieux Port the City of Cannes and the new port operator, Marina Vieux Port de Cannes (MVPC) is carrying out means that certain land-based and in-water areas currently located in the Vieux Port will have to be modified, resulting in new areas being created in Port Canto.
The City of Cannes entrusted the concession for the Vieux Port in Cannes to the Marina Vieux Port de Cannes consortium (uniting IGY Marinas and Fayat) in 2022 for a period of 30 years. Within this scope, it has launched a major renovation and modernisation project for the Vieux Port, which will start at the beginning of 2024 and finish at the end of 2026. The Vieux Port modernisation project will impact the southern part of the Jetée Albert Edouard on the north/west side of the port entrance, the careening area, and the Max Laubeuf car park, located opposite, to the south/west of the port entrance.
Since the first quarter, RX France's management, Show Director Sylvie Ernoult and the show's technical teams have been working with the City of Cannes and MVPC to design a new, optimum layout that is suitable for the show while the work is being carried out.
"Not only is the magnificent Bay of Cannes the ideal place to hold the Cannes Yachting Festival, which takes place in both ports - the Vieux Port and Port Canto -, but the city and its advantages are as well (luxury hotels and boutiques, the range of places to eat, etc.), which make the "off" show really appealing for the show's exhibitors and visitors. Every year, Cannes is elevated to be the world's yachting capital during the six days the Festival is held! It is clear that the work to modernise the Vieux Port means that we will have to modify some of our installations and how we accommodate our exhibitors and visitors during the Cannes Yachting Festival. Working constructively with the city and MVPC teams, our teams are already able to anticipate the main impacts on the different areas we occupy and find alternatives in the best possible conditions for the 2024 edition and those that follow. To do so, we are thinking 360 degrees, i.e. for both the Vieux Port and Port Canto," says Filippo Rean, Managing Director of RX France.
"As always, our priority is that our exhibitors and visitors are satisfied. This also means maintaining the show's size and diversity. We have been working hard for several months now to arrange the best installation possible for 2024, taking into account the various technical and safety constraints. The 2024 show configuration will therefore see the Vieux Port's reception areas that can't be used anymore transferred to Port Canto, and will enable all exhibitors and boats present this year to be accommodated. We are confident about the layout we have just presented to all our exhibitors. We understand that some may have questions and we are here to work with them and reassure them. We will take their comments into account and continue to refine the exhibition installation for next year. To sum up, the 2024 show will be extended even more to Port Canto, which will accommodate two segments coming from the Vieux Port with the mega yachts, with 1,500 m" of stand space on land and 500 m" of space in front of the boats to accommodate boat builders and engine manufacturers, and around fifteen 30- to 50-m boats; the second will bring together around a hundred boats from 8 metres long on more than 380 linear metres and 1,300 m" of stand space on land and 400 m" of space in front of the boats," adds Sylvie Ernoult, Director of the Cannes Yachting Festival.
Port Canto extended:
To replace areas that cannot be used in the Vieux Port during the works period, two new large areas will be created in Port Canto: the Mega Yachts Area, for large boats up to 55 m, and the Small Boats Area, for small boats from 8 m.
These two new areas and the addition of a new traversante, will mean all of Port Canto will form a loop and visitors can easily pass from one dock to the other. Four major sectors will now be brought together in Port Canto: the Sailing Area and the Yacht Brokerage & Toys area, which have already been in place for several years, and the brand-new Mega Yachts Area and Small Boats Area.
The new Mega Yachts Area will accommodate boats displayed by the show's large yacht builders. Located at the end of the Jetée du Phare (on the west side of the port entrance), it will provide a 1,500 m2 on land in line with that present up to now in the Vieux Port with an in-water space created to accommodate around fifteen 30- to 55-m long boats.
As for the new Small Boats Area, it will consist of 1,700 m" of space to be fitted out on land and more than 380 linear metres of quay that can accommodate more than 90 8- to 11/12 m long small boats. The in-water display is already impressive, as this will be the first time that such a large number of small boats will be brought together at the same quay in the show, thereby providing even better visibility for visitors' enjoyment. It is in line with the creation of the new marina dedicated to small boats located in the heart of the Vieux Port in 2023 and will also host all the small boats at Quai Max Laubeuf (many of which are exhibited on land).
A Vieux Port in transition:
The Cannes Yachting Festival installations at the Vieux Port will evolve over the three years that the works will take, depending on the space available. In 2024 Quai Max Laubeuf will continue to accommodate a wide selection of 10- to 20-metre motor boats and around twenty power catamarans. The Jetée will accommodate large yachts from 22 m long without any space on land and the Super Yachts Extension will remain with its large boats. Visitors will be able to get to it via a new visitor pathway along the jetty's work site and a traversante that will have been slightly moved and adjusted to suit the new configuration. The other areas in the Vieux Port will remain available and usable (or operable) in conditions similar to previous years.
Vieux Port - Port Canto Sea Connections:
The sea shuttle service between the two ports which all exhibitors and visitors can use will be maintained, with several departure and arrival points on each side of the Croisette to make going from one port to the other very smooth and visiting the show easier.
"We would like to express our sincere thanks to our exhibitors for their constructive reception and understanding with regards the changes this period of work imposes on us. Our discussions with them over the past few days have been very useful. We are aware that these changes to the layout may impact how the presence of some of them at the Cannes Yachting Festival is organised, but we are confident in our ability to reinvent the show together and support boat builders in accommodating them. The successful transfer of the Sailing Area to Port Canto in 2019 proves that it is possible to move entire sectors between the two ports without affecting the show's quality," concludes Filippo Rean, Managing Director of RX France.