The Cannes Yachting Festival runs 8 to 13 September 2026 across the Vieux Port and Port Canto. What each harbour holds, why the autumn shows decide the following charter season, and how to arrange a meeting.
The Cannes Yachting Festival runs from 8 to 13 September 2026, across two harbours in Cannes: the Vieux Port, which carries the motor yachts and most of the world premieres, and Port Canto, which carries the sailing fleet and the yachts available for charter and for sale. It is the first major European show of the autumn, and the one where next season's fleet becomes visible.
For anyone planning a Mediterranean charter, Cannes matters for a reason that is easy to miss from the outside. The show is reported as a premieres event, and roughly 150 boats will be shown for the first time. But the yachts that will actually carry guests next summer are mostly not the premieres. They are the ones at Port Canto, already in the water, already crewed, with a season behind them and a calendar being set for the one ahead.
That is the half of the show we go for.
What the two harbours actually hold
The Vieux Port is the headline. It is where the European builders put new models in the water, and it is the clearest single read on where the market is going: how yards are handling range, how much volume is being given to beach clubs and tenders, and what owners are now expecting from a main deck. Around 700 boats are shown across the two harbours.
Port Canto is the working half. Sailing yachts, and the brokerage and charter fleet. These are yachts a client can charter next summer or buy this autumn, which makes them the ones worth walking aboard with a specific client in mind rather than a general interest.
The distinction matters when you are deciding whether the show is worth your time. If you want to see what is coming, go to the Vieux Port. If you want to charter a yacht next season, Port Canto is where the answer is.
Why September decides the following summer
The charter year does not run January to December. It effectively resets in September.
Owners have just finished a season and know what worked and what did not. Captains know what the yacht needs over the winter. Central agents are setting rates and opening calendars for the following year. Anyone thinking about a charter in the summer after next is choosing, without necessarily knowing it, from a field being shaped this month.
This is why the six days in Cannes are worth more than the equivalent time spent on email in January. A berth appointment that would take a month to arrange takes an afternoon. A question about a yacht's condition that would take three exchanges to answer badly gets answered properly by standing in the engine room.
What we are looking at this year
What we are looking for is the gap between a specification sheet and the yacht itself. Two yachts of the same length, year, and builder can present entirely differently once you are aboard: the quality of the finish, how the deck spaces work underway, whether the crew have made her their own.
We are also there for the conversations about where a yacht will spend next season. An owner weighing a new cruising ground, a captain who knows what the winter refit needs, a manager setting the calendar: those exchanges take minutes in person and weeks in writing. September is when they are actually possible.
If you are going
Panos Moraitis attends on behalf of the house. If you are at the show and would like to meet, or if you would like us to look at a particular yacht while we are on the docks, get in touch before 8 September and we will arrange it. We can come back to you with a first-hand assessment rather than a brochure.
The show opens at 10.00 every day. It closes at 19.00 from Tuesday to Thursday and on Saturday, at 22.00 on Friday 11 September, and at 18.00 on the final Sunday.
Common questions
When is the Cannes Yachting Festival 2026?
The 2026 edition runs from 8 to 13 September 2026 in Cannes, France. Doors open at 10.00 every day. Closing is 19.00 Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday, 22.00 on Friday 11 September, and 18.00 on Sunday 13 September.
Where is the Cannes Yachting Festival held?
Across two harbours. The Vieux Port hosts the motor yachts and the majority of the world premieres. Port Canto, along La Croisette, hosts the sailing yachts and the brokerage and charter fleet. The two are a short distance apart and most visitors see both.
Can you charter a yacht at the Cannes Yachting Festival?
You cannot book a charter on the stand in the way you would buy a ticket, but Cannes is one of the better places to start one. The charter fleet at Port Canto is available to view in person, and a broker who has been aboard a yacht can tell you things about her that no listing conveys. Most charters that begin at a September show are contracted in the weeks afterwards, for the following summer.
Is the Cannes Yachting Festival open to the public?
Yes. Unlike brokers-only shows such as the Mediterranean Yacht Show, Cannes is a public event and tickets are sold through the official website. Some yachts at Port Canto are viewable by appointment through a broker rather than on open access.
How does Cannes compare with the Monaco Yacht Show?
They serve different ends of the market. Cannes is the broader show and the larger fleet, weighted towards production and semi-custom yachts. Monaco, held later in September, is smaller, weighted heavily towards superyachts, and more of a trade occasion. A house active in both charter and sales generally attends both, as we do.
What should I do if I want a Mediterranean charter for next summer?
Tell us the window you have in mind, your guest count, and the cruising area, and we will match it against what is genuinely available. The earlier in the autumn that conversation starts, the wider the field. High season is best enquired about 6 to 12 months ahead; the shoulder months of May, June, September, and October need 2 to 4 months.
