It’s with a laconic press release that UCINA just announced Yachting in Venice, the boat show that was announced during Genoa International Boat Show last October and that should have happened from 21-25 April 2016, will no longer take place.
It should have been italian shipbuilding’s Gateway to the East, a show across the whole city thanks to seven different location (an “event made out of events”) and inspired by Florida’s Boat Shows. Nothing of this will take place.
Here are the words of Carla Demaria, President of UCINA: “We were really enthusiast about this show, we wanted it to be a huge event fully dedicated to the boating world and we wanted it to take place in the most charming city in the world. We agreed on City of Venice’s target to combine italian industry’s greatness and an extraordinary location. Unfortunately Expo Venice is in a critical situation and this made impossible to manage timing and the high standards the show must guarantee and this is true now more than ever, since past attempt to organize a Boat Show in Venice left a negative shadow. UCINA has the duty to protect its associates’ investments and it is for this reason that the 2016 edition will be postponed, in order to work with longer deadline and better guarantees”.
 What Carla Demaria is referring to is the fact the Civil Court of Venice rejected the request to postpone the eviction ordered by Condotte, which owns Marghera Expo Venice’s pavilion (the one where small boats and accessories should have been displayed during Yachting in Venice) by commanding Expo Venice, Giuseppe Mattiazzo’s company, should leave the estate next April 26th: it appears a 700.000 euros rent was left unpayed. They say new investors are on their way with a total of 3 million euros in order to save Expo Venice, nonetheless the situation is still critical.
Thing is, lack of “ground locations” for Yachting in Venice appears to be just one of the matters. The show has been having huge difficulties since day one and during the past weeks it was already announced just one of the seven locations would have been used: the Arsenal, the most prestigious one and the pavilion where everyone wanted to exhibit. There was lack of subscriptions and on top of that we find the categorical announcement of Nautica Italiana declaring none of its associates would partecipate.
To make things even worse for I Saloni Nautici/UCINA there is the cancellation of Genoa Second Hand Boat Show, once scheduled from 1-10 April. UCINA says in this case, problem was Darsena’s concession expires at the end of April (rumors say it will be given to Porto Antico). The Second Hand Boat Show was confirmed last October and it should have been part of a great trilogy of prestigious events.
In the meantime is Nautica Italiana laughing at their back? Not really, since none of its shows has been announced yet. It was announced, just to be denied minutes later, a Boat Show would take place in Milan and other two big events dedicated to superyacht would take place in Portofino and Genoa in May. Everything is still extremely unclear, only thing certain for the moment is Fiera Milano’s official denial.
The entrance of Nautica Italiana in Confindustria was well awaited at the beginning of March but nothing happened, at least for now. Confindustria’s Board of arbitrators made a call on both sides and in the next days we’ll talk about the reasons.
In the meantime Cannes Boat Show, Boot Dusseldorf and Metstrade grow stronger.
