Organiser Informa Markets has announced that the 2020 edition of the Monaco Yacht Show has been cancelled. The show organiser said it had been in discussions over the past few weeks with superyacht industry stakeholders and partners to understand the challenges facing yacht owners, shipyards and brokers due to Covid-19.
Charlie McCurdy, Chief Executive of Informa Markets, said: “Like many other industries, the international superyachting community has experienced significant disruption in 2020.
“As we move to the other side of Covid-19, we are remaining agile in how we are supporting our partners and customers, flexing our events calendar, adapting products and providing digital alternatives where beneficial to best meet the needs of international communities through this difficult period.”
Informs had discussed with show partners including the Principality of Monaco to determine if a low-density, not-for-profit support edition – a concept announced in late May – would have been practical and beneficial to the market.
However, with much of the superyacht fleet currently located in the US and Caribbean and the normal calendar of activity severely disrupted, Informa decided to cancel this year’s show and stage the 30th edition in September 2021, three decades after the first edition in 1991.
Informa Markets said it was still pushing ahead with this year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show from October 28-November 1 and expects more than 900 boats – including 100 superyachts – to be on show.
McCurdy added: “We are focusing our efforts in the latter part of the year on delivering a strong platform to showcase the industry at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in late October, with the Monaco Yacht Show now set to return in style in September 2021, when it will celebrate its 30th anniversary.”