The second edition of the Boat Show starts tomorrow, 29 May, in Venice at the Arsenale, an event that opens with doubled numbers compared to the 2019 edition.

It will be a 9-day event during which visitors will not only be able to admire more than 220 boats from over 160 exhibitors but also the spectacular structures of the city’s Arsenal, a symbol of the Serenissima Republic’s power and military might and the heart of its naval industry that allowed it to be one of the greatest maritime powers for centuries. A highly evocative historical context right in the centre of Venice, consisting of a 50,000 square metre water basin, more than 1,000 linear metres of piers for about 150 boats in the water, 30,000 square metres of outdoor exhibition space, and covered pavilions totalling about 5,000 square metres.

“The Venice Boat Show – said Mayor Luigi Brugnaro – is an event that, together with the Architecture Biennial, starting on 22 May, and the reopening of museums and cultural institutions, accompanies the restart of Venice and Italy. The event, which we strongly supported, seals the importance of boating and the sea for this city. It is an event that we will continue to promote and enhance in the years to come, in order to support the boating industry and the whole sector, as well as the themes of sustainability and design, to experience the sea in all its potential. Moreover, this year, thanks to the cooperation of Venice’s marinas, the people of the sea, from Croatia to Trieste or from Ancona to Rimini, will be able to reach Venice by boat, mooring free of charge,

The exhibition at the Venice Arsenal, a natural “naval” continuation of the nearby Biennale architecture exhibition, will be enriched by cultural events and debates on the future of pleasure boating and its industry. The exhibition’s centre of gravity will be sustainability, which will be showcased in the E-Village with a wide range of hybrid and electric projects, which already characterised the first edition.
There will also be space for Venice’s specific features, with its quality shipbuilding sector and a focus on work boats for the forces of law and order, rescue boats such as hydro-ambulances and fire engines, and services such as waste removal. There will also be in-depth discussions in the meeting areas and broadcasted in streaming on topics such as tourist ports, design and innovation, luxury and yachting, hybrid engines, environmental issues, Venetian shipbuilding, and safety at sea.

“Art, industry and sustainability under the banner of safety,” explained Fabrizio D’Oria. The event will be fully compatible with health protocols, shared with the Architecture Biennale and defined in agreement with Ulss3. Thanks to an extension of the exhibition days, from 29 May to 6 June, and of the opening hours to the public, from 10.00 am to 8.00 pm, there will be constant control of the influx of visitors, which will be unidirectional and limited”.

The side events include the first Full Electric regatta called “E REGATTA”, organised by the partners coordinated by Assonautica di Venezia with endurance, agility and speed trials, as well as sporting events with sailing regattas, such as the already mentioned Italian Match Race Championship, and motorboat races with the final parade and prize-giving ceremony of the Pavia Venezia raid, the presence of sailing champions to relive the emotions of the Moro di Venezia at the Arsenale and Luna Rossa with some of its protagonists.

All information on the event: www.salonenautico.venezia.it