Boatlife cancelled

[Orwell boy]

well after enjoying Southampton boat show for the last 5 years or more , i had decided to give the boatlife show a look this year.
A little dissapointed to read today that the Birmingham show has been cancelled

[Nasher]

Oh Bu99er, like you I was going to give it a go for the first time.

What a shame.

[cdbxyz]

We went this year but only really to see Harry Dwyer and Goodwin.

It was pretty underwhelming otherwise so not really surprised that they can’t run it again. It needed to be twice the size to get critical mass and make it really worthwhile.

[Pikey Dave]

The days of the big boat shows are over. I’ve seen the London Excel show burn out & the Southampton show is in terminal decline. The demand just isn’t there anymore. The exhibitor costs are astronomical, there are no bargains to be had anymore, as the bulk of sales have gone online.

[Fenlander]

I don't know if it's lucky or not that I'm the end of the age scale to remember the glory days of both Boat and Motor shows in the 60/70s. Pre internet and with only three TV channels these shows were a rare chance to gather so much information and see so much fantastic gear in one day. For a kid/teen utterly amazing.

This 1969 Earls Court Boat Show YouTube even features a "blowupable dinghy" for £100.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng7eV8ITW_U

[Max...]

You and me both - one of my most treasured memories was the annual visit to Earls Court with the old man in the glory days of the late 70's and all through the 80's. It was such a special place for me, not just the Boat Show but so many other shows over the years. Very upset when the whole place was bulldozed.

A Sunday visit there with all the excitement and atmosphere and buzz of the windsurfing and waterski areas and just all the amazing boats from one man folding wooden DIY jobs to huge Sunseekers followed by lunch at the Canal Boat restaurant...

Very fond memories never to be repeated.

Excel as a venue is terrible in comparison, the boat show did not compare to EC and the last Motorbike shows there in the early 2020's I have visited have been dark, empty and miserable in comparison.

[chipko]

Shame. Only 40 odd miles from us, and a decent indoor show growing in popularity as far as I could tell, so would be interesting to learn why it’s been pulled. Purchased our current hard boat after visiting this years show.

[mhill]

I'll probably be chastised for this, but hey, ho, I went the first year it happened and was very underwhelmed. I was in the market for a boat then, but there wasn't much to buy, and the vendors didn't want to sell...

[smallribber]

Great pity we used to see this little show as a great start to the new year re boating

[Voodoo]

We liked it too and had intended to go in Feb.......not now I guess.

[fastasfox]

I was a big champion of the boatlife show, but last year I was very underwhelmed...a backwards step if you like. I promised myself that if the 2025 show didn't pick up, then I wouldn't go in 2026, but to be honest there is normally a bit of hype about the next show by now, but I've seen nothing and it did cross my mind if it would go ahead.
I don't think the NEC helps...they are so greedy.
I won't bother with Southampton next year either...I was not impressed this year at all.
A lot of you go on about the Excel in London...any old photos?

[Max...]

Excel was a pale shadow of Earls Court. Cr@p venue, cr@p show.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Max...

Excel was a pale shadow of Earls Court. Cr@p venue, cr@p show.

I actually liked excell It was easy to get to, easy to park you could buy stuff & dump it in your car & being square & flat found it easy to navigate around & boats on the water outside. Earl's court wasnt as easy to get to parking was a pain & the layout was chaotic. What was better was ther was more smaller stands with dealers clearing old stock & you always came away with something you didnt realise you needed.
I never realy liked Southampton as much as london, it was wrong time of the year when you could still be boating & the wrong time for buying gadgets ready for spring. Been promising to try Dusseldorf for a few years so maybe 2025 is the year to try that one. Talking to someone in the know he reckoned Southampton will carry on although severely reduced simply because of the budgets of the big uk boat builders. But for those of us unlikely to be spending 7 figure sums on a new boat theres little of interest nowadays imho