The Collins Stewart London Boat Show at ExCeL was officially opened on Friday by actor, writer and boat lover Griff Rhys Jones, along with boating legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.
Griff recently starred in the BBC programme Three Men in Another Boat, which saw him sail his classic yacht Udina with celebrity friends. Sir Robin, the first man to sail singlehandedly around the world, repeated the feat last year in the Velux 5 Oceans race.
In its 54th year, the Collins Stewart London Boat Show aims to offer something for everyone, from experienced yacht owners looking for new boats or new gear, to those thinking of starting out in the sport.
The Main Stage powered by Fairline, the new central feature of the show, has proved a big hit with show visitors, with crowds gathering to watch both spectacular features like the aerial Sea Queen Stage Show and the fashion show, and masterclasses from boating heroes including Mike Golding, Geoff Holt and Adrian Flanagan.
There are over 500 exhibitors at the Show and over 1,000 boats and products on display, making it the largest annual event in London - according to organizers National Boat Shows (NBS).
Andrew Williams, managing director of NBS said: “A lot of hard work, imagination and creativity has gone into the planning of this year's show and it's great to have two such passionate sailors here to launch what promises to be a fantastic event.
“There really is a huge variety of experiences, activities and products for visitors to take in - whatever their level of interest in boating. And it just goes to show what the marine industry has to offer. We wish all our exhibitors and visitors an enjoyable and successful show.”
And it seems that the ExCeL event is winning the “battle of the boat shows.” Attendance was down on the opening day, with only 8,000 visitors, down by 29% compared with 2007, amid speculation that it had been hit by the rival Earls Court Boat Show last month.
But the figures for the first weekend were up on last year, with 16.000 visitors on Saturday (up 4%) and 14,700 on Sunday (up 19%)
This puts attendance for the show so far on a par with the first three days of last year's show, and organizers are optimistic about the remainder of the show, saying that ticket pre-sales are up 14% compared with last year.
