SIBS postponed; smaller option mooted

British Marine (BM) has finally announced it will be postponing the 52nd edition of the Southampton International Boat Show until September 2021. However, the organisation will explore running a smaller scale outdoor event and will start taking bookings for SIBS 2021 from Monday 6 July 2020.

The usual format is said to attract over 100,000 visitors, with around 400 exhibitors.

“We’re naturally very disappointed that we cannot run the event this year in its usual magnitude and format,” says Lesley Robinson, BM’s CEO.

British Marine has been working with event stakeholders, including Southampton City Council, to consider all options for staging an alternative event.

“As government guidance on Covid-19 evolves, British Marine will continue to work with both exhibitors and key event stakeholders to explore all other opportunities, including an alternative smaller scale outdoor event,” says Robinson, citing Friday’s announcement that the government will be setting out a timetable for getting events as Covid-19 secure as possible.

This aligns with the comments made by Dean Smith, the then BM commercial director, to MIN in March.

He vowed British Marine would be ‘super flexible’ with what it provides and said: “It might not look like SIBS as we know it or have the same volume of visitors, but we’ll do what we can.”

BM says all current exhibitor bookings for SIBS 2020 can be transferred automatically to next year’s version, due to take place on 10-19 Sept 2021. Transferred bookings’ rates will remain the same, as will stand positions.

Requests for a full refund for this year can be made to BM – these need to be made within 30 days.

If exhibitors request a full refund, their stand position will be retained until 30 Sept 2020, but all new bookings for 2021 may be subject to a rate increase.

SIBS 2021 floorplan will open for new business on Monday 6 July.