Yacht Racing Forum: Initial Programme and key updates

Following one of its most successful editions, the Yacht Racing Forum has unveiled the first elements of its 2026 programme. The event will take place on 19–20 November in Amsterdam, at the end and the day after Metstrade, with the traditional Sailors’ Night on Thursday evening.

The 16th edition will once again bring together the international sailing community for two days of conferences, keynotes and high-level networking at the crossroads of sport, business and innovation.

Bernard Schopfer, organiser of the Yacht Racing Forum, outlines the key features of the upcoming event : “While we will continue to spotlight the sport’s leading events and cutting-edge technology, we are also placing greater emphasis on mainstream sailing and racing — which represent the vast majority of participants and have the greatest impact on the business and industry.”

The 2026 edition will focus on the trends shaping the sport and its commercial development, whether in the areas of technology, human resources management, artificial intelligence, marketing or budgeting. Further details of the conference and the list of speakers will be published online over the coming weeks.

What they said about it:

Sir Russell Coutts, CEO, SailGP: « This event is excellent — strong content, outstanding speakers and truly thought-provoking topics. From my perspective, it is extremely valuable. »

Rosanna Chopra, Executive Director, Red Sea Global: « The Yacht Racing Forum opens up partnerships conversations and that’s why this event is so important to us as we move forward. »

Holly Cova, Team Director, Team Malizia: « It is a super-high quality event. All the industry leaders are here, so it is great to see these people and the content is great. »

Knut Frostad, Executive Chairman, Henri Lloyd : “I was very impressed. There were many new participants, all highly engaged and well prepared. The event is extremely well organised, and I learned a great deal. »