Less than 2 months before the opening of the Cannes Yachting Festival 2019, Cannes boat show curator Sylvie Ernoult answers our questions about organizer Reed Expo's investment in promoting the new Port Canto sailing area.
You've entered into a partnership with the FFVoile. What is the principle and purpose of this partnership?
The principle is that the Cannes Yachting Festival offers entry to all FFVoile licensees, provided they enter through the doors of the sailing area at Port Canto. They can pre-register online for faster entry, or fill in a form with their license number on site. They will then have access to the entire show. The idea is to inform all sailing enthusiasts in France about this new space at Port Canto. We welcome large yachts from 10 meters upwards, but we want to reach all sailing enthusiasts, even those who don't sail large boats. We had few links with the FFVoile and sailing enthusiasts before.
In addition to the FFVoile, we're also running an operation aimed at the general public. All visitors entering the sailing area in the morning between 10 and 11 a.m. will be offered free entry. Cannes is no longer just a show for big motoryachts. We want to get the word out and get people to come and discover the sailing area. We're aware of people's inertia and their habit of coming to the old port, so we want to regulate the flow and attract people to the sailing area in the morning.
What kind of investment does this represent?
There are over 50,000 visitors, and we don't know exactly what percentage are FFVoile members and sailboat enthusiasts. We can't give any figures. Even if you see it as a loss of earnings, to attract visitors who satisfy both visitors and exhibitors, it's worth the effort.
What about the Diam 24 trimaran regatta? What are your expectations?
It's all about communication. We couldn't do the hardware, with the space and infrastructure, without the software to bring it to life. The historic sailboat exhibitors are coming and playing the game of moving to Port Canto, so we had to provide content with entertainment. There will be 5 boats and 4 races a day for 2 days, offshore, outside the dykes. We're going to set up a Race HQ and a welcome area for racers in Port Canto to give the event a high profile. This will also enable us to take one passenger per boat in VIP offers for exhibitors and visitors.
The shuttles between Port Canto and the Old Port have been at the heart of discussions since the announcement of the sailboat's move. What resources are in place?
We guarantee a shuttle departure every 15 minutes, working on throughput and capacity with small and large boats. We already validated the technical tests last year. We created the "pipes" with the shuttle lines. We know that the critical point of the show is the traversante (editor's note: pontoon opening in the middle of the Old Port), which creates a bottleneck. With departures outside the port, on the Croisette, on the superyacht quay and on the Quai Max Leboeuf, which used to welcome sailing boats, it works.
What would be the success of the sailing area at Port Canto? To what end?
There are no numerical targets. Success depends on the satisfaction of the exhibitors in the sailing area. And an exhibitor is happy if visitors are happy and buy boats. Success will be their smiles from Sunday evening to closing time.
