1,813 exhibitors from 70 different countries will be presenting about 1,800 boats at boot Düsseldorf this year. This means that the most important water sports trade fair in the world will be more international than ever before in its 48-year history. It will be time to set sail again in the halls on the Düsseldorf exhibition site from 21. to 29. January 2017. For nine days, everything on more than 220,000 square metres of stand space will be revolving around luxury yachts, motor boats, sailing, diving, fishing, holidaymaking by or on the water and trend sports. Messe Düsseldorf CEO Werner Matthias Dornscheidt: “We are delighted to see how the industry is looking forward to and preparing for boot. An impressive 72 of the boats are being premiered this time. In the middle of the winter, we will be making dreams about trips, holidays and sports on the water come true here”.

THE WAVE – the first stationary Deep Water wave

THE WAVE is a stationary wave nine metres wide that will be located in the new Surfers’ Village in Hall 2 and will make everyone want to go surfing. Not only professionals but also children and newcomers will have fun on it. It is possible to book the exciting surfing slots at boot from 10.00 to 11.00 every day. Surfing is free of charge with an admission ticket to boot. Neoprene suits and helmets are provided by boot. The Surfers’ Village will also have trendy beach bars, cool surfing fashion and the latest boards.

THE WAVE is an impressive achievement at the technical level too: it is based on the unique Deep Water surfing system, so that it is possible to surf on it using standard surf boards with fins too. This creates a realistic surfing feeling like on ocean waves. For newcomers and professionals, there are waves of different heights in the pool, from 1 to 1.50 metres high. The water, that has a temperature of 25°C and is 1.40 metres deep, is pumped into waves by ten pumps, guaranteeing endless surfing fun.

THE WAVE is a Citywave project developed by the engineers Susi und Rainer Klimaschewski.

Insight into the world of superyachts and their equipment

The boot exhibitors who supply the segment covering superyachts, tenders for large yachts, superyacht manufacturing and superyacht equipment are to be found in Halls 5, 6. and 7a.

The demanding boot public has plenty to look forward to: Hall 6, the home of the superyachts, is completely full. It is everything the lovers of large yachts have ever dreamed about. All the market leaders are on board and will have wonderful ship presentations for the visitors to admire.

A total of 60 superyachts up to 30 metres long in Hall 6 represent the crème de la crème that this segment has to offer on the boat market at the present time. No easy task for the exhibitors, trade fair organisers and transport companies in many cases, since extremely detailed plans need to be made to get the boats to boot on time. Because many of the beautiful ships cannot be transported by road; instead of this, they take advantage of the location of the exhibition site right by one of the most important waterways in Europe – the Rhine – and travel to Düsseldorf on the river. Some of them even together, with up to seven boats on a pontoon that is loaded in Rotterdam. Once they have arrived in Düsseldorf, the yachts are transported directly to the hall from the pontoon.

Exclusive yachtbuilding projects, models of luxury yachts, suppliers, designers and architects demonstrate in the Superyacht Show in Hall 7a that nothing is impossible in yacht manufacturing. A new feature here is the trade fair event boot INTERIOR, which is devoted to the furnishing and equipment of the megayachts created for discerning owners. Because there is increasingly strong demand for spa areas with state-of-the-art technology, quieter cabins, lavish materials for exclusive design concepts. Messe Düsseldorf and the superyacht magazine BOOTE EXKLUSIV, which is published by Delius Klasing Verlag, are the joint organisers of this event at boot 2017. The aim for the future is to develop an even broader product range in the B2B field at boot. The participants include the joint venture “German Yachts – Superyacht Germany” as well as a stand shared by the French superyacht manufacturers.

Equipment segment popular

The boot segment dedicated to motors, technical fixtures, equipment, instruments such as electricity supply systems in the form of classic generators or solar energy modules as well as efficient propellers attracts over 50,000 visitors to Düsseldorf every year. This makes Halls 10, 11 and 12 a popular segment at boot.

Recreational sailing in Halls 14 to 17 with more than 360 exhibitors

More than 360 manufacturers of sailing boats and yachts, multihull boats, catamarans, daysailer boats and dinghies will be on show at boot this year. boot is as a result the most important platform in the world for the presentation of sailing of all classes and in all forms, so that Halls 14 to 17 will be transformed into a huge sailing centre. Numerous sailing boats will be premiered and will be presented to the public for the first time at a trade fair.

boot Director Petros Michelidakis: “Nothing will be left to be desired in these sailing halls. We have a very wide-ranging programme and will even be recording further growth in the multihull and daysailer fields. As a passionate sailor, I am already looking forward to the active and exciting atmosphere and sailing spirit in the halls.”

Promotion of competitive sailing

boot is not just a platform for boats and yachts, however; on the contrary, for many years now it has focussed on the encouragement of talented young sailors. The Düsseldorf sailor Constanze Stolz, who is preparing to participate in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in the 470 boat class at her new training base in Kiel, is a good example here. One of her supporters and financial backers in this project is boot Düsseldorf.

Supporting competitive sailing is another of the emphases at boot alongside the presentation of boats in the halls. boot sponsors the traditional regattas in Kiel and Travemünde, for example. Every year, the boot sailing school attracts hundreds of newcomers onto the water in Hall 14, where big wind machines make sure sufficient breeze is available. The 4,000th new sailor was welcomed there at boot 2016.

Plenty going on in the motor boat halls

Everything that motor boat fans want to see is on offer at boot 2017, from 2.5-horsepower motors for newcomers to 5,000-horsepower luxury yachts. In total, 350 exhibitors from the motor boat field are represented in Halls 4 to 6, 9, 10 and 17. The many different premieres are an impressive demonstration of the manufacturers’ outstanding innovative skills. Motor boat racing is presented by Powerboat World in Hall 4, where particularly fast racing boats are on show. The stand organised by the “Start Boating” campaign is a genuine highlight for motor boat newcomers in Hall 10 (Stand A 59). The attractive new boot simulation game enables visitors to steer a motor boat virtually on the Rhine past the actual skyline of the city of Düsseldorf.



Co-operation between the Prince Albert Foundation and the German Ocean Foundation

The Prince Albert Foundation from Monaco and the German Ocean Foundation will be announcing their co-operation at boot Düsseldorf. Michelidakis is delighted: “For us as the organisers of boot, it is a tremendous honour to be able to present these two significant organisations and the work they are doing to protect the world’s oceans. Our aim is to draw the attention of major companies and decision-makers to the issue of ocean protection”.

670,000 people go diving every year

Diving is in, extremely enjoyable and becoming increasingly popular. These facts are being confirmed by boot Düsseldorf, because demand for space in Halls 3 and 4 – where diving paraphernalia, suits and state-of-the-art equipment are presented – is very strong. Divers claim that their sport is the “most beautiful hobby in the world” and the top international suppliers are presenting their products and services at boot again. 670,000 people in Germany go diving every year and the numbers have been increasing steadily here and in the other European countries for years now. What is waiting for them at boot is an in-depth information programme about diving training, provided by such leading organisations as the International Aquanautic Club, Padi, Protec, PSS worldwide, SSI and the Association of German Recreational Divers. This means that the recreational diving halls are a good opportunity during the cold season to prepare for upcoming diving trips and to obtain information about new diving rules and regulations.

Appealing diving destinations with fabulous underwater scenery

The recreational diving destinations presented at boot focus on excellent diving locations rather than on such prosaic subjects as training and technology. Both very popular and exotic travel destinations are highlighted, with the aim of familiarising visitors with their fabulous underwater scenery. The Philippines, the Azores, Fuerteventura, Indonesia, Portugal and Honduras all have joint stands, for example. Sardinia is presenting its attractive diving regions for the first time. Anyone who prefers inland waterways to the sea can obtain information about the outstanding diving conditions that can be found in the fascinating underwater world of Hallstätter See thanks to the participation of the Dachstein-Salzkammergut Diving Club.

Chance to go diving at boot

Visitors who decide they would like to go diving themselves can then borrow all the necessary diving equipment and go underwater in the pool, which is 6 metres long, 4.60 metres wide and 1.80 metres deep. Suits, compressed air cylinders, air regulators and fins are made available free of charge and experienced diving instructors from the leading recreational diving and training organisations give tips and advice.

Holiday dreams come true

Dreams come true in the holiday regions that are exhibiting in Hall 13. This is where hotels and club resorts located by the water present their facilities as well as the large selection of water sports options they have to offer. For sailing and motor boat enthusiasts, the charter companies provide boats in practically all the water sports destinations around the world. One of the trends is also towards holidays in Germany on houseboats or boating holidays in one’s own RV or caravan.

Cruises more popular than ever before

Anyone who wants to spend his dream holiday entirely on the water is at the right place in the Cruise Pavilion, however. The market leaders in this field provide information about the cruising hotspots at the maritime travel market in Hall 14. boot Düsseldorf is right in line with the times in doing this, because the number of cruise passengers has been increasing steadily throughout Europe for years now and reached a record of 6.6 million people in 2015.