Gothenburg Boat Show to close down after 65 years
Image courtesy of Pasi Mammela, via Wikimedia.
The 2025 Gothenburg Boat Show, scheduled to take place from 1 to 9 February at the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre (Svenska Mässan) and Gothia Towers, will mark the final event in the event’s 65-year history. No additional shows are planned following this year’s event.
Since its debut in 1960, the show has served as a harbinger of spring for Gothenburg – the second-largest city in Sweden – and attracted an average of over 60,000 visitors annually.
Over the decades, the event attempted to evolve to reflect changes within the boating industry. However, in recent years, it has seen challenges to its profitability. Organisers say an overall assessment of market conditions, shifting purchasing patterns and changing industry needs led to the decision to discontinue the event. Efforts to adapt the show to these changes have not been sufficient to improve its financial viability.
“It is, of course, a sad but necessary decision to leave just over a week before we open the boat show 2025, but with this, we want to avoid rumours and speculation during the ongoing event, says Benny Karlsson, commercial manager at Svenska Mässan, which organises the event.
“When conditions change, we need to act and make wise business decisions. We will not close the doors to a future boat show if the situation changes, but at present, no more events are planned.”
The news follows a spate of boat show cancellations in Europe, following the news that the Paris boat show has been cancelled due to ‘market conditions’. The indoor boat show, BoatLife 2025, originally scheduled to take place from 6 to 9 February 2025 in Birmingham, UK, has also been cancelled after just three editions.
