The Barcelona International Boat Show is warming up for what will be its 62nd edition, with which the event takes a turn and appeals to a more exclusive audience, with greater purchasing power and a professional profile. To this end, the event will exhibit a greater variety of models and lengths than ever before, with large boats docked at the Moll de Barcelona, which recently opened to the city.
The show, which will conquer Port Vell from October 8 to 12, attracts visitors not only with the display of boats, but also by incorporating high-end gastronomy spaces and a village that aims to be a social and business meeting point. "This year's edition marks a turning point in the show's trajectory, as we are committed to improving the overall quality of the event," defended the president of the show, Luis Conde. This new, more exclusive stage is complemented by a new event in spring, more recreational and focused on sea enthusiasts and a more family-oriented audience, which will debut in 2026.
Organized by Fira de Barcelona in collaboration with the National Association of Nautical Companies (Anen), the show will feature the participation of nearly 200 exhibitors with 500 boats, with 130 in the water. The various brands will bring the latest market innovations to the show, with technological advances, new designs, and applications in efficiency and sustainability. Port Vell will be the setting for a world premiere: the new Horizon FD100 model, 31 meters in length.
Specifically, the event will feature world-leading shipyards such as Brunswick and Beneteau, and companies and brands such as Absolute, Azimut, Bluegame, De Antonio Yachts, Excess, Fyord, Garmin, Girbau, Jeanneau, Pardo, Leopard, Fountaine Pajot, Lagoon, Movilmotors, Nuva, Touron, Recambios Marinos, Rodman, Sasga, Sealine, Sessa, Solaris, Solé, X-Yacht, Yamaha, Zephir, and Zodiac. In addition, this edition incorporates new firms, such as Sunreef, Horizon, Kawasaki, and Pearl, and new Spanish shipyards, including Kumbra, Level, Maxim, and Cleemenss.
In this more premium edition, called The Boatique, not only do brands and manufacturers grow, but also the size of the boats. In fact, 24% of the vessels that will be exhibited at the show will be over 16 meters —what is considered large length, up to 30 meters—. To accommodate them, the Moll de Barcelona is for the first time at the service of the event, which will reach the Moll de la Fusta and part of the Espanya, Dipòsit and Sota Muralla quays. To facilitate visits, the show will connect the Barcelona and Espanya quays with an electric shuttle boat, through the Port Vell.
After a year-long hiatus due to the America's Cup, the show's change of course is also reflected beyond the sea: this edition premieres the village as a meeting point for the most exclusive visiting public. More than 2,500 square meters of the Moll de Drassanes, next to the Portal de la Pau, will become the new village, which will host promotional activities and business contacts.
The gastronomic proposal will be led by Le Chef Catering, with a six-course tasting menu with seafood ingredients, which has been designed by the prestigious Sevillian chef Rafa Zafra. The show's gastronomic offer will be completed with an Open Bar, with quality tapas for visitors and professionals.
All of this adds up to continue advancing in the Nautical's strategic plan, as its director, Josep Antoni Llopart, highlights: "Our intention is to reposition ourselves in the international calendar as a higher-level event, in a maximum period of three years, betting on a greater presence of leading international companies that, in addition, present their latest innovations in Barcelona."
The show also appears on this international calendar through conferences aimed at professionals. The Edifici Terminal Drassanes will host more than 30 sessions from October 8 to 11, in a program coordinated by the Port de Barcelona. Hundreds of experts will gather around round tables and presentations linked to areas ranging from sustainability to innovation, including the blue economy.
"Nautics is an important engine for the blue economy that is going through a moment of profound transformation, and initiatives such as those incorporated in the next edition of the Barcelona Boat Show are an important stimulus and support to reinforce the innovation, internationalization and competitiveness of our companies," defended Jordi Carrasco, general director of Anen.
Among the speakers at the conferences are prominent figures such as the director of Port Vell, David Pino; the president of the Port of Tangier, Mohamed Ounaya; the manager of Seabots, Pau Guasch; the president of Marinas de España, Tomás Azcárate; the general director of Ports de la Generalitat, Esther Roca; the director of the Nautical Institute of Barcelona, Mireia Latre, and the co-founder of Ocean Ecoestructures, Mireia de Mas.
The electrification of boats, the opportunities of AI, marine robotics and the implementation of digital platforms to plan voyages will be some of the main topics of the conferences, within a show that places Barcelona on the international calendar of the most exclusive nautics in this new stage.