Yes, chartering a yacht in Cannes for corporate hospitality during Cannes Lions or MIPIM is a normal, well-established option, and we handle these requests differently from a standard leisure charter. The first thing most first-time corporate charterers don’t know: a cruising charter is legally capped at 12 guests, while a static, dockside charter can host far more. Get that distinction right before you start comparing yachts, and the rest of the planning gets much easier.
A static, dockside charter turns a yacht into a hospitality venue for the week of the event, not just a way to get out on the water.
Quick Answer
- Cruising charter (max 12 guests): best for a small executive group, a client dinner while cruising, or private accommodation during the event.
- Static charter (roughly 15-20 up to several hundred guests, depending on the yacht and port permit): best for a reception, a branded hospitality suite, or an evening event.
- Prime visibility: Vieux Port/Yacht Row, right next to the Palais des Festivals, most limited and most expensive.
- Better value, still walkable: Port Canto, about 20 minutes on foot from the Palais.
- Start planning: MIPIM (mid-March), begin the July or August before. Cannes Lions (late June), 5 to 8 months out for the best yacht and berth.
What a Corporate Yacht Charter Actually Looks Like at Cannes Lions or MIPIM
Two formats cover almost every corporate request we get for these events.
A static charter means the yacht stays moored, usually for the full week of the event, and works as a hospitality venue rather than a cruising vessel. We set it up as a meeting room by day and a reception or dinner space by evening, with the crew handling catering, service, and turnover between events. This is the format most companies use for client entertainment, brand presence, or a run of back-to-back meetings during MIPIM or Cannes Lions.
A cruising charter takes guests out on the water, either for a short client outing during the week or as private accommodation for a small executive team staying near the show. It’s a different product with a different guest limit, which is the next thing to get right.
The Guest Cap Most First-Time Corporate Charterers Don’t Know About
We recommend deciding your guest count and format before you start shortlisting yachts, because the two formats have very different limits.
Crewed yachts available for cruising charter operate under a commercial charter license that caps cruising guests at 12, regardless of how large the yacht is. A 50-metre yacht with space for 40 people at a dockside reception still can’t take more than 12 guests out cruising. This catches a lot of first-time corporate charterers off guard, because they assume “yacht charter” means the whole guest list can go out on the water together.
Static, dockside events aren’t held to that cruising limit. Depending on the yacht’s size and the port’s event permit, a static charter can typically host anywhere from 15-20 guests up to several hundred for a larger reception. That’s why nearly every corporate Cannes Lions or MIPIM charter we set up is a static one: the format matches how these events are actually used, which is client hosting and meetings at a fixed location, not a day out at sea.
If your plan genuinely needs guests on the water, we would build a small cruising outing (up to 12) around the static hospitality base, rather than try to force a large group onto a single cruising charter.
Where the Yacht Sits: Vieux Port vs. Port Canto
Berth location is a real trade-off, not just a preference.
The Vieux Port, specifically Yacht Row (Jetée Albert Edouard), sits directly next to the Palais des Festivals. This is the highest-visibility position in Cannes during either event: delegates walk past on their way in and out of the show, and your yacht functions as a visible extension of your brand’s presence. It’s also the most limited and most expensive berth option, and the first to book out. For the full picture of chartering in Cannes beyond event weeks, see our Cannes yacht charter guide.
Port Canto, about a 20-minute walk from the Palais, offers considerably more berth availability at a better price, while still being a realistic walking distance for guests. We’d recommend Port Canto when the priority is a comfortable, private client space rather than maximum foot-traffic visibility, or when budget needs to stretch further toward the yacht itself rather than the berth.
Yacht Row sits directly on the water in front of Cannes, a short walk from the Palais des Festivals.
What It Costs
Static hospitality yachts commonly used for Cannes Lions run around 40 metres, at roughly €150,000 for the week, though the real range runs from about €20,000 a week for a smaller, meeting-focused boat up to several million for the largest static superyachts on Yacht Row. What moves the number most is yacht size, static versus cruising, whether it’s an event week or a quieter week, and how much of the budget goes toward full hospitality and catering versus a simpler meeting setup.
On top of the charter fee, expect VAT and an Advance Provisioning Allowance (APA) for catering, drinks, and event-specific costs, the same structure that applies to any French Riviera charter. We cover how VAT and APA work in detail in our French Riviera yacht charter cost guide; for a corporate hospitality charter, the APA line is usually higher than a leisure week because of the catering volume for a reception or multi-day meeting schedule.
When to Start Planning
For MIPIM, held each March in Cannes, we’d start the conversation the July or August before the event. That puts a reader planning in the second half of 2026 on a normal timeline for MIPIM 2027, not a late one.
For Cannes Lions, held each June, we recommend starting 5 to 8 months out if you want the strongest choice of yacht and Yacht Row berth. By spring, the best static positions next to the Palais are largely committed, and you’re choosing from what’s left rather than what’s best for your event.
We see the same pattern around other major Riviera event weeks, including the Monaco Grand Prix and the Cannes Film Festival: the best static positions get committed months out, not weeks. Dates can shift slightly year to year and we’d confirm the current official schedule before you commit to a berth, but the planning window itself doesn’t change: earlier gets you the yacht and position you actually want.
Is a Yacht Charter the Right Call for Your Event?
A yacht charter isn’t automatically the better option over a hotel suite or a restaurant private room. It makes sense when you want full control over the guest list and the space, a setting that stands out from every other company doing the same hotel-suite hospitality play, and the flexibility to run meetings by day and entertaining by evening from one base.
It makes less sense for a single short meeting where a hotel meeting room is simpler, or for a delegation that needs several hundred seated guests with heavy AV and staging, which is easier to deliver on land. If your event sits in that gap, tell us the format you’re picturing and we’ll say plainly whether a yacht is the better fit or not.
How We’d Plan This With You
We start with your guest count and what you actually need the space to do, not a list of available yachts. Once we know whether you need a static hospitality base, a small cruising outing, or both, we shortlist from real current availability for Cannes Lions or MIPIM dates rather than a generic fleet list, and walk you through the berth trade-off before you decide.
“One detail we flag early with corporate clients: the event permit and the berth are two separate approvals, and the permit is what actually sets your evening guest count, not the yacht’s own brochure capacity. We’ve seen a Yacht Row reception get capped below what the yacht could comfortably host once fire-safety and gangway limits were applied. Now we apply for the permit the same week we confirm the berth, so the number on your invitation is a number we can actually deliver.”
Our South of France Team, DMA Yachting
FAQ
Can we charter a yacht for just one day during Cannes Lions or MIPIM?
Day charters are possible, but most crewed yacht inventory is priced and contracted for multi-day or full-week charters, especially during event weeks when demand is highest. For a single-day meeting or reception, we’d check day-rate availability directly rather than assume it’s the default option.
How many guests can we host on a yacht during Cannes Lions or MIPIM?
Up to 12 on a cruising charter. A static, dockside charter can typically host 15-20 up to several hundred guests depending on the yacht’s size and the port’s event permit.
Do we need the yacht for the whole event, or just for specific days?
Either works. Some clients book the full week for a consistent hospitality base; others book just the 2-3 days that matter most for their meetings or client dinners. We’d plan around your actual schedule rather than defaulting to a full week.
Can the yacht be used for both meetings and evening client entertainment?
Yes, this is the most common setup. A static charter typically runs as a meeting and hospitality space by day and shifts to a reception or dinner format by evening, with the crew handling the turnover.
Planning Corporate Hospitality for Cannes Lions or MIPIM?
Tell us your event, guest count, and dates. We will explain realistic yacht and berth options for Cannes Lions or MIPIM before you commit to anything.
Contact our South of France charter team or begin with our Cannes yacht charter guide.
