Six days across two harbours, 56,000 visitors, 660 exhibitors, 700 boats from 5 to 55 metres, nearly 150 of them world premieres. Those are organiser RX France's closing figures for the 49th Cannes Yachting Festival, held 8 to 13 September. The 2025 edition drew 56,000 visitors, 677 exhibitors, 711 boats and 147 premieres, so the two years differ by a couple of per cent at most. It was Constance Brément's first as director, and the last before the fiftieth, set for 7 to 12 September 2027. The most interesting yachts are in the first part of our review.
The numbers: 2026 vs. 2025
| Figure | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Visitors | 56,000 | 56,000 |
| Exhibitors | 677 | 660 |
| Boats | 711 | 700 |
| World premieres | 147 | nearly 150 |
The 700 boats split 360 at the Vieux Port and 340 at Port Canto, over 100,000 m² of net exhibition space, with 720 journalists from 45 countries. Port Canto held three zones: the Sailing Area with 120 new sailing boats over 10 metres, the Power Boat Marina with 180 motorboats up to 13 metres, and the Yacht Brokerage Area with nearly 45 pre-owned yachts over 25 metres. The Power Cat Village, in the middle of the Vieux Port, gathered around thirty motor catamarans; across both harbours there were 95, 51 sailing and 44 power.
Brément came to the job after a season as deputy director. "This inaugural edition as Director of the Cannes Yachting Festival will remain a deeply memorable moment for me," she said in the closing release. The festival was founded in 1977.
World Yachts Trophies: five for Ferretti Group
The trophies come from Yachts France, a magazine published by SG Publications. The ceremony ran on 12 September from 20.00 on the beach in front of the Carlton Cannes: 69 finalists, around thirty trophies. Only motor boats from 13 to 140 metres, launched or handed over to their owners over the season, could enter. Every boat on the list below was already afloat. Among the winners:
| Category | Boat | Yard |
|---|---|---|
| Best Exterior Design (14–18 m) | Gran Turismo 50 | Beneteau |
| Best Evolution (13.7–19.5 m) | 56' Rivale Super | Riva |
| Best Innovation Power Yacht | 570 Sky | Galeon |
| Best Exterior Design (19.5–24 m) | Icona 70 | Icona |
| Best Layout (19.5–24 m) | Pearl 73 | Pearl Yachts |
| Best Evolution (19.5–24 m) | Ferretti 720 | Ferretti Yachts |
| Best Bespoke Interior | A80 Mabelle II | Arcadia |
| Best Design Catamaran | Ultima 88 | Sunreef Yachts |
| Best Exterior Design (24–30 m) | Manhattan 94 Black Mamba | Sunseeker |
| Best Layout (24–30 m) | 96' Argo Super | Riva |
| Best Functionality | UHV 100 | Lazzara Yachts |
| Best Exterior Design (30–50 m) | Navetta 35 Goal | Custom Line |
| Best Interior Design | Sirena 118 Ikigai | Sirena Yachts |
| Best Exterior Design | Sirena 42M | Sirena Yachts |
| Green Yachts | Even Further | Amer |
| Best Performance | Fast50 | Baglietto |
| Best Exterior Design (50–82 m) | 54Metri Sairu | Riva |
| Best Semi-Custom Yacht | T60 Kinda II | Baglietto |
Ferretti Group
Five trophies went to Ferretti Group. Three of them are Riva's: the 56' Rivale Super, the 96' Argo Super and the 54Metri Sairu. Ferretti Yachts took Best Evolution in the 19.5–24 m class with the 720, Custom Line the 30–50 m exterior award with the Navetta 35 Goal.
Stassi Anastassov, global CEO of Ferretti Group: "Cannes is where the world sees the result of the thousands of decisions, details and uncompromising standards that define our shipyards."
Sirena Yachts
The 36-metre Sirena 118 Ikigai, a world premiere at the show, took the interior design award, and the 42-metre Sirena 42M the exterior one.
Baglietto
The Fast50, first hull of the 49.9-metre line, took the Best Performance title, and the 60-metre T60 Kinda II was named Best Semi-Custom Yacht.
Arcadia and FIM
Arcadia's A80 Mabelle II won for its interior. FIM also took a trophy, with the 580 Contessa, the Bergamo yard's first sport-fly.
What sold and what was announced at the show
Ferretti Group
At its Cannes press conference Anastassov said the group expects around 150 new owners over the next year. Ferretti added an extra year of warranty cover for yachts up to 45 metres and named two models for boot Düsseldorf in 2027, the Infynito 100 and the Itama 80. Both are at the project stage.
Sunseeker
A letter of intent is signed on the first hull of the 45M, with three more prospective clients behind it, according to BOAT International. The 45M is a project: construction starts in the third quarter of 2027.
Benetti
The first B.Neos 40M has sold, a project with delivery set for spring 2028. The deal went through Manuele Thiella of Royal Yacht International.
What was said about the market
RX France frames the edition around the energy transition: hybrid propulsion, solar, recyclable batteries, hydrogeneration, recycled materials, low-impact coatings. Its release argues that "far from relying on a single technology, the sector's transition now relies on a multitude of complementary solutions", and calls slow yachting — "comfort, silence, self-sufficiency and high-quality stopovers" — a powerful trend.
BOAT International counted 109 superyachts at the show by the close, 3,530.2 metres of hull between them, average volume 227 GT. The magazine reads the mood as cautiously positive: "the buyer pool may have been narrower, but those who came appeared ready to engage, while shipyards left the show with renewed confidence in the season ahead".
Photo: J. Kelagopian / Cannes Yachting Festival (RX France). Source: RX France, Yachts France (SG Publications), YachtBuyer, BOAT International, Marine Industry News, SuperYacht Times, Pressmare.
