boot 2021 Interview with Petros Michelidakis

The news from Messe Düsseldorf quickly made the rounds when it was announced last week that the new date of boot is now in April. I wanted to know a bit more and contacted the PR department of the fair with a few questions about the new date and the impact on 2022 and the trend sports industry.

I myself am very happy about the new date, because we can now present the spring issue with the re-launch of the magazine in April at the boot. The days will be a bit longer and we won’t freeze our hands and feet during the assembly and disassembly.

In this sense, many thanks to Petros Michelidakis Director of boot for his answers and the wise decision to move the boot to April.

Aloha Petros,

Thank you for taking the time to read Stand Up Magazine. The water sports community in Hall 8a has long speculated about what will happen in January. Most of the people I talked to have all already guessed in September that the boot will not take place in January. Many manufacturers in Beach World have therefore not registered.

Why did you wait so long with a final decision at the fair? Or asked in another way: what is so important on the January date that it took so long to reach a final decision?

And for many decades, boot Düsseldorf has had its position as the first trade fair in the series of shows. However, since the companies also consider a presence at boot Düsseldorf in 2021 to be indispensable, most of them will be on board at the new date from April 17. to 25.

The situation is somewhat different for surfing. Here, in the current worldwide C19 situation, April is very accommodating to the providers. People will plan their leisure and sports activities in the coming year very close to the start of the season. I believe that we can give surfing a considerable boost with the new date. With warmer temperatures, the longing for water sports will be even greater and we will certainly be able to welcome an enthusiastic audience to boot 2021.

I am sure that many local politicians were involved in the decision process to postpone the date. Despite the security concept, what finally tipped the scales to cancel the January date?

In Germany, as in many other countries, there is currently a regulation that events are completely prohibited, including trade fairs. However, on December 3, the Economics Ministers of the German federal states issued an appeal to the German government to launch an initiative to safeguard and further develop the German trade fair industry. The decisive factor for the postponement of boot 2021, however, was above all the planning reliability towards our boat manufacturers. We had to make this decision by the beginning of December at the latest, since that is when the yachts are sent on their way to Düsseldorf. And we didn’t want to leave any exhibitor sitting on these high transport costs. With the date in April we can now plan and we will be able to welcome the first yachts at the end of March.

Why exactly in Arpil?

When planning the postponement, only this date was actually considered. We expect that the warmer temperatures together with the start of vaccinations will lead to a containment of C19. In addition, the date is ideal for surfing and diving as well as for the travel and charter industry. It falls in the beginning of the travel season and I think that many people are hoping for this start of the season. Furthermore, for many manufacturers a date later in the year is simply not possible due to the deliveries of their boats to private customers and charter bases.

Will this postponement have an effect on boot 2022?

Definitely no! From 2022 on we will go back to the proven date in January. This is what the industry expects from us and we will keep it as “learned”.

If I may I have a few more Beach World specific questions:

We see how Nautique in Paris has established itself as a meeting place for the international SUP elite. But the infrastructure at Beach World seems to be the better one. Beach World has enormous potential to attract more international starts from the trend sports scene and yet we see the activities on the water for active athletes getting smaller every year. What is the philosophy of the fair here?

During the Salon Nautique, Paris has established a SUP race on the Seine with many international stars. This is unfortunately prohibited by the authorities on the Rhine because of the current and commercial shipping traffic. The Beachworld and “The Wave” have been attracting just as many international stars for years, who often stay with us throughout the fair and who visitors can meet. However, I do not agree with the fact that our activities are getting smaller, on the contrary. The Wave, Foilsurfing, Foil-Pumping or also SUP-Yoga have been established at the boot in the last years. We still follow the trends and present them together with the protagonists of the scene at boot. Industry experts like Flo Brunner from Starboard even consider “Wingfoiling” to be a similarly booming sport as windsurfing was in the 1980s. To have extremely much fun on the water with compact and light equipment is certainly a wish that many water sports enthusiasts fulfill. At the next boot in April we will present the topic “Wing-Foiling” especially prominently. Here the community will show great interest in the products and how and where you can experience this fascinating kind of water sports. For this we will deepen our pool and use wind machines. For this purpose, a grandstand is planned, which will allow a larger number of spectators while observing the rules of hygiene.

In any case, I am already looking forward to the new date and I am sure that we will experience a Beach World in April as we remember it from 2020.

Thank you very much for your insight.

Boot Düsseldorf ist from 17. – 25. of April 2021.

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Memories to a boot from a pre-corona world.