Facts & Figures – Southampton Boat Show

14-23 September, Mayflower Park

 

The Show

·         The Show boasts one of Europe’s largest purpose built show marinas with over 2.5km of pontoons and over 370 boats afloat

·         The Southampton Show now covers over 155,000m of land

·         The spectacular on-water Boat Show costs over £3.6 million to stage

·         The Show has over 600 exhibitors and approximately 1,000 boats on display

·         The biggest boat at the Show this year is Sunseeker’s Tri-deck Motor Yacht 37M. 

·         The Tri-deck Motor Yacht 37M is also the most expensive boat at the Show, costing around £11M

·         The Southampton Boat Show hopes to welcome over 130,000 visitors to the Show

·         The Show will see over 40 media briefings with World product launches, UK launches and a European debut being announced on Press & Preview Day

 

Showboat to China…

·         The Southampton Boat Show has teamed up with the Chinese Association of Southampton to launch the ‘Chinese Quarter’, an exciting new attraction designed to give visitors a taste of Qingdao, Southampton’s ‘Sister City’, in celebration of the forthcoming 2008 Games in Beijing

·         The Chinese Quarter will feature Olympic Classic Boats and host several appearances by some of the Skandia Team GBR sailors preparing for Qingdao 2008

·         The show plays host to a number of traditional Chinese activities including lion dancers, folk dancers, firecrackers and a display of Marshall Arts weapons

·         At present 20 provinces, districts or cities in China are involved in the sport

 

Past vs Present

·         The Show offers activities for everyone from thrill seekers to historians

·         For the first time visitors to the Show can experience Hydrozorbing, a wacky extreme sport described as a cross between a rollercoaster and waterfall

·         The £10 donation to experience Hydrazorbing goes straight to the Royal National Lifeboat to invest in the latest safety technology

·         Visitors interested in Maritime History will have the chance get on board HMS Bounty and learn about the most infamous mutiny that took place over 200 years ago

·         On board HMS Bounty, professional actors playing Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian will offer 'street entertainment' style performances to entertain visitors

 

Famous faces

·         HRH The Princess Royal will be at the Show on Monday 17 September to officially name and become Godmother to Mike Golding’s new Open 60, ECOVER.

·         Sir Keith Mills, who launched TEAMORIGIN in January 2007, will unveil his team members on Friday 14 September

·         Well known faces from the sailing community including Dame Ellen MacArthur, Double Olympic Gold and Silver Medallist Ben Ainslie MBE, and round the world sailors Alex Thomson, Mike Golding OBE, Dee Caffari and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston will all make an appearance at the Show

·         Television celebrities in attendance at the show include Coronation Street stars Simon Gregson and Sue Cleaver (AKA Steve & Eileen) as well as ITV Meridian presenter Fred Dineage

·         Tim Seely, the last surviving cast member of the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty will pay a visit to the HMS Bounty during the Show