boot Düsseldorf and the European Boating Industry (EBI) sign a new 3-year partnership. EBI will be the official "Content Partner" of boot Düsseldorf for the organisation of the "blue innovation dock" (bid), the "International Breakfast Meeting" (IBM) and the "blue innovation dock 360° online", which will take place as a series of events. The aim is to create added value for exhibitors and visitors that will support the boating and nautical tourism industry in its further growth and sustainability.

After the successful cooperation in the past years, EBI and boot Düsseldorf have agreed to expand their partnership. The tried and tested "Breakfast Meeting" will focus on the most important economic topics of the industry.  The "bid" will deal with the sustainable change of the industry and innovations. The aim is to cover the entire spectrum of sustainability. In order to always be directly on the pulse of innovations, the online event series "blue innovation dock 360°" will start in parallel.

The new cooperation kicks off with a panel discussion that will start on 1st September 2022 on site in Düsseldorf and can then be followed online. Under the motto "Marina of the Future", it will deal with a key topic of the industry. On the agenda are the current challenges in the areas of marina capacity, sustainability, infrastructure for alternative fuels and propulsion, and digitalisation. Industry leaders and experts will discuss with policy makers how these major challenges can be tackled together. This launch will be followed by further online events. The highlight of the bid series will be at boot 2023, where each day of the trade fair from 21st to 29th January will feature an attractive programme of panel discussions and seminars with internationally renowned and high-calibre experts from industry, research and politics. The International Breakfast Meeting is traditionally held on the Tuesday of boot, on 24th January next year.

Petros Michelidakis, Project Director boot Düsseldorf, explains the partnership: "With the EBI we have the central European expertise on board. We provide the platform and EBI feeds it with interesting and innovative content. In this way, we offer the international industry, dealers and national associations a unique opportunity for knowledge and information transfer throughout Europe. I am very pleased that we were able to extend the partnership with EBI and I am sure that this will provide strong impulses for the future of the industry. I am of course particularly excited about the first event in Düsseldorf, the 'blue innovation dock' in September, and the first bid in presence at a boot in January 2023."

Philip Easthill, Secretary-General of EBI, added “Our overarching mission as EBI is to represent the industry and advance sustainability based on European competitiveness. We want to ensure strong political and innovation support that is necessary to grow in the next years and successfully navigate the green transition. We are delighted to have boot Düsseldorf as a partner at a time of major challenges that we will focus on with our existing and new events at boot Düsseldorf and throughout the year. We very much look forward to embarking on this with Petros Michelidakis and his team”