Interview with British Marine CEO, Earle Stanner on what’s new at SIBS 2026 and future plans for the show

The Southampton International Boat Show 2026 runs from 18 to 27 September at Mayflower Park, Southampton, with more than 20 world and UK boat debuts alongside a packed stage programme. Ahead of the show, Powerboat & RIB put questions to Earle Stanner, CEO of British Marine, to find out what’s new, who’s speaking, and where the UK’s biggest boating event goes from here.

Q: What are you as organisers most proud of presenting to visitors of the 2026 show?

A: For me, it’s the quality and variety of what visitors will actually be able to see this year. We have a really strong line-up of world, UK and show debuts, including some fascinating new powerboats – from the Fairline Targa 58 GTO and Sirena 48 through to the Highfield ADV9, Duchy 45, Nord Star 49+ and Mini Fisher Classic. It gives people the chance to see everything from innovative, accessible craft through to serious offshore and luxury cruising boats in one visit.

Beyond the debuts, we have hundreds craft being showcased, including over 120 power brands on display this year – the show truly does have something to offer everyone. The brands stretch to all four corners of the globe, and the boats reflect the very different waters and boating cultures they have been designed around. From tough Nordic boats, born out of the need to handle cold, exposed and challenging waters, to refined Italian and British brands where luxury, craftsmanship and design are central to the experience to American vessels designed for fishing. The global nature of the brands on show further showcases this diversity, with the line-up spanning performance-driven boats designed around speed, agility and offshore capability, through to versatile day boats that make getting out on the water simple and accessible. Add in the latest thinking around comfort, technology, efficiency and intelligent use of space, and the result is the broadest powerboat line-up the UK show scene has to offer.

Q: Why should those with an interest in boating make the effort to attend this year’s show?

A: The strongest reason is that there are things you can do at Southampton in a day that are very difficult to replicate anywhere else. The show is the UK’s biggest showcase of its kind meaning we are able to share a huge breadth of innovations and skills from world leading brands.

If you’re thinking about your next boat, you can step from one model to another and make genuine comparisons rather than looking at specifications online. If you’re upgrading, you can speak directly to people about engines, electronics, equipment and servicing. And if you simply want to get more out of the boat you already own, there’s a huge amount of practical expertise on hand.

For PBR readers in particular, the Powerhub, powered by powerboatandrib.com, brings together powerboats, engines, technology and specialist expertise, while Try-a-Boat includes craft such as an Axopar 37, Team Endeavour Racing, and Highfield 700 Sport RIB, giving visitors the opportunity to get onto the water rather than experiencing the show entirely from the pontoon.

There are hundreds of boats in the marina and even more marine brands across the wider show, but the real value is being able to compare, ask questions, talk to experts and discover things you probably wouldn’t come across otherwise.

Q: Can we expect to see a strong showing of entry level craft as well as the ‘big hitters’?

A: Absolutely – and I think that range is really important. Boating shouldn’t be presented as though the only way into it is through a very large, very expensive yacht.

At the smaller end, visitors will find compact RIBs, tenders and day boats from brands including AquaSpirit, 3D Tender and Mini Fisher, alongside established names such as Quicksilver, Parker and Finnmaster. From there you can move through family day boats and sports cruisers into larger cruising boats from the likes of Nimbus, Galeon, Fairline, Princess and Sirena.

That ability to see the progression is one of the benefits of the show. Someone looking for their first boat has very different requirements from someone moving into a 40- or 50-foot cruiser, but both should be able to come to Southampton, step aboard relevant boats and have useful conversations.

We want people to see that there are many different routes into boat ownership – and many different ways to progress once you’re in it.

Q: For those who haven’t attended the show for several years, what changes and updates can they expect to see at the 2026 event?

A: We relaunched the show format last year, with a new footprint that puts the marina closer to the heart of the visitor experience, while retaining the show’s position as the UK’s flagship boating event, bringing together more than 700 marine brands.

We also relaunched the stage programme last year, introducing the Boating Stage and Wooden Boat Stage, both of which return in 2026. This year, the Wooden Boat Stage is expanding further with the new Wooden Boat Stage Afloat, bringing a collection of historic and classic wooden boats from both power and sail into the marina for visitors to see up close.

There are also some new elements to discover, including the Key Yachting J/70 Invitational Cup Regatta with 12 teams battling it out for the title, the new Sail Hub, bringing together sailing creators, podcasts, talks and Q&As, while The Shipyard has an expanded evening programme.

And for 2026, we’ve extended the weekend opening hours at The Shipyard, giving visitors the chance to stay later and enjoy live headline performances from UK supergroup Blue Water Giants.

So if you haven’t been for a few years, it will feel different – more focussed, more interactive and easier to explore – but boats, boating expertise and getting people onto the water remain at its heart.

Q: In this challenging market, what role do you see your show performing on behalf of the industry it showcases?

A: I think we have to acknowledge that it is a more cautious market. People are thinking harder about major purchases, running costs and where they spend their money, and marine businesses are operating in that same environment.

But that arguably makes a show like Southampton more useful. If you’re considering spending a significant amount on a boat, engine or major piece of equipment, being able to see different options side by side, talk directly to the people behind them and ask detailed questions becomes even more valuable.

For the industry, it creates a concentrated opportunity to meet existing owners and prospective buyers, launch new products and understand what customers are looking for.

I don’t think one show can be used as the sole measure of the health of an entire industry, but Southampton is an important meeting point for that market. In more cautious conditions, creating meaningful connections between customers and marine businesses matters more, not less.

Q: Can you give some insight into how you see the show evolving and adapting over the course of the next 5 years? In other words, what’s your grand vision or wider aim, in terms of where you want to take the show? Might this include a shorter show perhaps, or maybe even a different location?

A: The ambition is for Southampton to remain the UK’s most important place for people to experience the breadth of boating in one place – whether they’re buying, upgrading, learning or discovering something new.

But I don’t think achieving that means preserving every aspect of the traditional show format simply because that’s how we’ve always done it. The aim isn’t scale for scale’s sake; it is to create the best possible experience for visitors and genuine commercial value for exhibitors, while making sure the show has a sustainable long-term future.

So yes, we have to be prepared to look at things such as the format, duration and costs of the show. We haven’t announced decisions on those questions, but all of these points are part of responsible long-term planning and are under constant review in collaboration with our exhibitor advisory group.

What I can say is that the show will be held at Mayflower Park in 2027, while keeping our core principles very clear – keep the water and the boats central, make the show easy and rewarding to visit, bring serious buyers and marine businesses together, and continue opening the door to the next generation of boaters.

Q: Our readers love facts and figures, so can you tell us, how many people does it take to stage and organise the event? Also, how much does it cost to stage an event like this every year?

A: It takes a surprisingly large team to bring the show together. Our core in-house team is fewer than nine people who start planning for each show 15 months in advance. As we get closer to opening, we bring in specialist contractors covering everything from the marina and site build to safety, security, logistics and show operations. By the time we’re onsite, around 300 staff and contractors are involved in delivering the event.

The build itself is a major operation. From the first teams arriving at Mayflower Park to the final contractors leaving, the whole process takes around four weeks.

Effectively, we are creating a temporary waterfront event venue and marina, with all of the infrastructure, safety and operational requirements that come with welcoming thousands of visitors over ten days.

For me, the more interesting number is probably (three months to build the marina, one and half months to remove it, 8,000m² of pontoons, 25 structures, 35 containers, 1,205hrs to build and breakdown the show, 50 companies to help build) because it gives a real sense of the scale of what happens behind the scenes before the gates even open.

Q: If you could say one thing to those exhibitors who are supporting this year’s show what would it be? And, likewise, if you say one thing to all those members of the public visiting the show this year, what would it be?

A: To our exhibitors, it would simply be thank you – and we don’t take that support for granted. Exhibiting at Southampton involves a commitment of boats, equipment, people, time and investment. They are what gives visitors the opportunity to compare products, meet the experts behind them and discover what’s new, and our responsibility in return is to deliver an audience and an event that provides real value.

And to visitors, I’d say – make the most of it. Don’t just walk around looking from a distance. Step aboard, ask questions, compare things, speak to the people who build and use the equipment and, if you can, get out onto the water.

The best thing about Southampton is the amount of boating knowledge and enthusiasm gathered in one place. Come and use it.