The world's largest water sports trade fair - boot Düsseldorf - will once again be the most important hub for exchange of the industry from 21 to 29 January 2023. The trends and, above all, innovations for the 2023 season will be presented in 16 exhibition halls. Water sports enthusiasts will find everything their hearts desire: sailing yachts and boats, luxury yachts and motorboats, equipment for diving, surfing and paddle sports as well as dream destinations presented at the "Destination Seaside”

In addition to the exhibitors' innovations, goals and developments from the international water sports community and European politics will be discussed with top-class speakers. Each of the nine days at the brand-new blue innovation dock (bid) in Hall 10 will have a different important theme for the industry. boot Director Petros Michelidakis: "This makes the bid a must-attend event for all trade visitors to boot Düsseldorf. The content partner is European Boating Industry - EBI. Participation is free of charge for visitors to boot Düsseldorf and, with its high information content, it offers great added value for the professionals."

Global market leaders on board: international sponsors support the blue innovation dock

One of the most sustainable developments in the industry comes from the French Benetau Group. As a Performance Partner of the Sustainability Forum, the company will present its latest development: The sailing yacht First 44 and the Delphia Line. In luxury yacht building, San Lorenzo as Project Partner is at the forefront with its sustainability strategy. Specially established "Sustainability Divisions" develop current guidelines on how sustainability can also be applied to luxury yachts. 

In addition, other yacht, boat and engine manufacturers as well as charter companies are pool partners of the bid.

"We have a total of twelve active supporters of the bid on board. I am very pleased that the cooperation with European Boating Industry as content partner has been so fruitful in such a short time and that we have been able to win over the expertise of European politics and internationally active companies," explains Petros Michelidakis.

As pool partners, the following companies (in alphabetical order) will support boot 2023 in the bid: Azimut, Bavaria, Brunswick, DMarin, ePropulsion, Fabiani Yachts, Greenline, Princess, Sunreef and Torqeedo.

Day one, as a kick-off to the Forum, includes a Leaders Dialogue with high-ranking politicians under the headline "Business meets Politics". The path to zero emissions and the strengthening of #MadeInEurope is the focus of the discussion, as well as a CEO panel on nautical tourism.

For day two of the bid, the organisers have set panellists a challenging task. It revolves around sustainable propulsion in boating and the presentation of the study commissioned by boot and executed by EBI, "How is the path to the green transition evaluated by consumers and industry".

On Monday, the bid is all about promoting start-ups. Here, the focus is on funding innovations and start-up disruption. They are also invited to pitch their products on stage at the bid in front of key investors and market players. Afterwards, the EU's BlueInvest initiative will be presented and European Commissioner for Budget Johannes Hahn will be giving a keynote.

A current hot topic are the “fuels of the future”, which will be the  focus on the stage on Tuesday. First, the development and integration of alternative fuels, from biodiesel to e-Fuels will be discussed.  But, what infrastructure is needed in European marinas for these fuels and charging infrastructure to be rapidly put in place? Representatives of the European Commission, European Parliament, and providers of this infrastructure will talk about this.

And what happens to old boats at their end-of-life? And what about their environmentally friendly disposal? These are questions that speakers will address on Wednesday. The hotly anticipated EU roadmap for end-of-life of recreational boats will also be launched by the European Commission and European Boating Industry. In order to tackle this issue in the future, easily recyclable materials should be implemented in boat-building and, above all, sustainable composite materials should be used.

Sustainability in nautical tourism is the focus of the exchange on the bid stage on Thursday, both for the transition pathway of charter and marina sector, as well as the perspective of the wider water sports branches. All of these have an expectation of their own green transition and that of the boating industry.

On Friday, the bid will focus on digital innovations that can support the implementation of sustainability. The programme will be supplemented by a panel discussing how innovative boat design can lead to more sustainability in boatbuilding, through life cycle assessment, hydrofoils and other exciting new approaches.

However, the bid is not only a forum for industry and politics. On the second Saturday of boot, the NGOs – the non-governmental organisations – will be in focus. They will shed light on their experiences with the industry and discuss whether enough is being done for active marine, climate, and nature protection.

And on the last day of boot 2023, sailors and boaters will join the discussions on the bid. Representatives of the industry and international associations will discuss what needs to be done on the subject of sustainability and it will be key to see whether consumers and manufacturers have the same approach.