Initially scheduled to be held from 7th to 12th September, the 34th Festival de la Plaisance de Cannes will
now be held from Tuesday 6th to Sunday 11th September 2011, along the quays of the Vieux Port and
Port Pierre Canto, and inside the Espace Riviera exhibition hall.
This change of dates is a direct consequence of the G20 being held in the city of Cannes. It is having an
impact on all the events scheduled to take place before it, in particular the Festival de la Plaisance de
Cannes, but also MIPCOM and Tax Free. The scope of the security plan for the G20 involves in fact the
requisitioning of the city’s entire sea front, from the Vieux Port to Port Pierre Canto, starting the month of
October. This makes it necessary to advance the dates of all the events scheduled.
With 80,000 m² of exhibition space on land and in the water, and more than 500 boats on display, the
Festival de la Plaisance de Cannes is Europe’s leading in-water boat show and arguably the world’s most
prestigious. It attracts more than 54,000 visitors from the four corners of the earth, who come to discover
an international gathering of close to 200 new models, on show for first time ever worldwide.
“This change of dates is important, even if it does not call into question the foundations of the Festival. The
essential thing was to keep the six days of exhibition, including a whole weekend, to allow visitors to take
full advantage of this exclusive event,” explains Renaud Jourdon, the show’s manager.
Advancing the opening date from Wednesday 7th to Tuesday 6th and the closing date from Monday 12th to
Sunday 11th ma y seem inconsequential, but the Festival is held at the end of the summer period
between the time when the port is heavily in use and just ahead of the exhibition ‘Tax Free’. This leaves
only a very tight margin for manoeuvre. The new manager and his team will have to contend with
unprecedented logistical constraints while at the same time preserving the excellent nature of the event.