Blue Innovation Dock will take place at boot Düsseldorf from 17 to 25 January 2026 in Hall 10. Jointly organised by boot Düsseldorf and EBI, it will again serve as the policy and innovation programme alongside the trade fair, bringing industry, EU and national policymakers, researchers, athletes and civil society voices into the same agenda.

The 2026 programme will focus on sustainability and decarbonisation, marina innovation and nautical tourism, circular materials and composite recycling, design and retrofitting, digitalisation and AI, and high-performance and competitive sailing. The format will combine panel discussions, keynotes, interviews and innovation presentations across the nine days.

The main partners for 2026 are Beneteau Group, Brunswick Corporation and Sanlorenzo. The opening address will be delivered by David Foulkes, CEO of Brunswick Corporation, followed by an on-stage interview with Marcus Krall. The speaker line-up is expected to include Members of the European Parliament Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann and Andreas Schwab, EU Commission representatives including Andreea Staicu (Head of the Tourism Sector), and senior national politicians. The programme also plans contributions from academia and industry, as well as sessions featuring personalities and organisations active in competitive sailing and ocean advocacy, including SailGP and GEOMAR.

The full programme will be published on 22 December here.