PSP Southampton Boat Show in association with ITV Meridian

12-21 September, Mayflower Park

The Show
• The PSP Southampton Boat Show will be blowing out 40 candles this year in celebration of its 40th Show
• The Show boasts one of Europe’s largest purpose built show marinas with over 1.6km of pontoons and over 400 boats afloat
• The PSP Southampton Boat Show now covers over 155,000m² of land
• The spectacular on-water Show costs over £3.8 million to stage
• The Show has approximately 607 exhibitors and over 1,000 boats on display
• The biggest boat at the Show this year is Sunseeker’s Tri-deck Motor Yacht 37M. 
• The Tri-deck Motor Yacht 37M is also the most expensive boat at the Show, costing around £11M
• The smallest boat at the Show this year is a Reid Marine Starfish Children’s Dinghy measuring 156.5cm
• The PSP Southampton Boat Show hopes to welcome over 130,000 visitors to the Show this year
• The Show will see over 35 media briefings with World product launches, UK launches and European debuts being announced on Press and Public Preview Day.
• Gold medal winners Ben Ainslie, Paul Goodison, Iain Percy, Andrew Simpson, Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson, who are part of Skandia Team GBR, will arrive at the Show with fellow Olympic team members onboard Mike Golding’s ECOVER 3 yacht.
• Boating and TV legends from the last four decades including Sir Robin Knox Johnston, Kate O’Mara, Lady Pippa Blake, Steve Curtis MBE and Dame Ellen MacArthur will join members of Skandia Team GBR to mark the Official Opening of the PSP Southampton Boat Show at 11am

40th Anniversary Facts
• The first Show ran for a mere six days from 29 September to 4 October 1969
• The very first Southampton Boat Show guide was entitled “See Boats Afloat – at their happiest” and was priced at a shilling!
• As leader of the opposition, Margret Thatcher paid a visit to the Southampton Boat Show in 1979 in a bid to improve her chances with the voting public in winning the forthcoming general election
• The Show in 1989 saw Britain pulling out of the ERM and the resulting Black Monday 
• Richard Branson was displaying his Virgin Atlantic Challenger at the 1989 Show, whilst Virgin Atlantic presented a fashion show in the Virgin Atlantic Hall!
• The most expensive yacht at the 1999 Southampton Boat Show was a Sunseeker Manhattan 84, priced at a mere £2m!
• Celebrities turning 40 this year include: Daniel Craig, Patsy Kensit, Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Jon Culshaw, Rhys Ifans, Yvette Fielding and Will Smith
 
1969
• Concorde completed her first supersonic flight on 1 October
• Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon on 21 July  in Apollo 11
• US units withdrew from Vietnam
• The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18
• John Lennon returned his OBE in protest to British support of the Vietnam war
• Number one hits in 1969 included ‘Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da’ by Marmelade, ‘Where do you go to my lovely’ by Peter Starstedt, ‘I heard it through the Grapevine’ by Marvin Gaye, ‘Get Back’ by the Beatles, ’Honky Tonk Women’ by Rolling Stones and ‘Two Little Boys’ by Rolf Harris (Christmas Number one)
• The Beatles gave their last public performance on the roof of Apple Records, London
• Swindon Town Beat Arsenal FC 3-1 in the League Cup final
• 50 pence pieces were introduced
• Ocean Liner the QE2 sailed her maiden voyage