RX France, organisers of the Cannes Yachting Festival, presented exhibitors with their plan for the restoration and modernisation of the Vieux Port for the 2024 edition

In 2022, the city of Cannes leased out the Vieux Port for 30 years to the consortium Marina Vieux Port de Cannes who launched a large project starting in 2024 and concluding at the end of 2026. Specifically, certain areas on land and in the water of the Vieux Port will be upgraded, alongside the creation of new spaces in Port Canto.

“Every year for six days – says Filippo Rean, general manager for RX France – the show elevates Cannes to world capital of yachting. Clearly the modernisation of the Vieux Port will force us to modify some of our facilities, as well as how we host our exhibitors and visitors during the show. Working productively with the city of Cannes and MVPC, our team have been able to forecast the main impact of the various areas and to find the best alternatives possible for 2024 and beyond. To this end we are looking at all the possibilities for both Vieux Port and Port Canto.”

“As always – notes Sylvie Ernoult, director of the Cannes Yachting Festival – the satisfaction of our exhibitors and visitors is our priority, which means we need to keep the size and diversity of our show. For the last few months we have been busy trying to create the best possible set-up for 2024 keeping into account the various technical and safety constraints. The configuration of the 2024 show will include the transfer of the reception area from Vieux Port to Port Canto allowing us to keep the same number of exhibitors and vessels that were present this year.”

AN EXTENSION OF PORT CANTO

Throughout the works, in substitution of the inaccessible areas of the Vieux Port, two large spaces will be created in Port Canto: the “Mega Yachts Area” and “Small Boats Area”. With these two new areas, which will be added to the “Sailing Area” and “Yacht Brokerage & Toys Area”, and the addition of a crossing, the entire Port Canto will turn into a circuit where visitors can move easily from one pier to the next.

The Mega Yachts Area is located at the end of the Jetée du Phare and will have a building of 1,500 m2 as well as space in the water for around fifteen units ranging from 30 to 55 metres. Instead, the Small Boats Area will include 1700 m2 of space on land and over 380 linear metres of pier, capable of hosting over 90 units of between 8 and 12 metres.

VIEUX PORT IN TRANSFORMATION

Over the three years of works the areas of the Vieux Port used for the event will evolve depending on the space available. For 2024 Quai Max Laubeuf will continue to host a selection of motor boats in the water ranging from 10 to 20 metres, alongside around twenty catamarans, while the Jetée will host yachts 22 metres and up (without space on land). The “Super Yachts Extension” which will continue to exhibit larger units, will be accessible to visitors through a new access point around the working area of the Jetée  and a crossing adapted to the new configuration.

WATER TRANSPORT BETWEEN VIEUX PORT AND PORT CANTO

A sea bus service between the two ports will be accessible to all exhibitors and visitors, with various point of departure and arrival on each side of the Croisette, making it easy to access both ports and other areas of the event.

“We would like to thank our exhibitors – concludes Rean – for their understanding in front of the changes taking place throughout the works. Our exchanges with them over the last few days have been very helpful. We understand that these changes to the layout might have an impact of the organisation and participation of some of them in the Yachting Festival, but we trust our collective ability to reinvent the show and help the shipyards throughout this transition. The success of the Sailing Area, which we moved to Port Canto in 2019 shows that it is possible to move entire sections from one port to the other without changing the quality of the show.”