MIPIM 2018 opens its doors

By Rebecca Bradbury 13 March 2018

The 29th edition of MIPIM gets underway today in Cannes, bringing together the most influential players in the real estate industry, as well as a glittering line-up of superyachts, for four days of networking, learning and transaction.

Organised by Reed MIDEM, the event attracts the most influential property players from the office, residential, retail, healthcare, sport, logistics and industrial sectors. In total, 24,500 participants and 3,100 exhibiting companies are expected.

Also on the scene is an impressive fleet of superyachts berthed along Cannes’ Jetée Edouard Albert. Located just metres from the Palais des Festivals, the event’s main hive of activity, they will be the site of many a meeting, corporate function and after-party.

show-goers at MIPIM walk around the Palais de Festivals in Cannes

speakers take part in a conference at MIPIM

MIPIM delegates outside the Palais des Festival in Cannes

busy exhibition space at MIPIM at the Palais des Festival in Cannes

Open since 9am this morning, this year’s edition of MIPIM focuses on the radical changes the global real estate industry is currently facing. Urban sustainability initiatives and proptech and innovation will also be high up on the agenda.

More than 400 speakers will take part in 100 dedicated conferences, fuelling discussion, learning and connections. The programme begins today at 2pm in the Grand Auditorium with an opening ceremony entitled ‘Urbanity: new rules for new cities’.

There is also a dedicated programme of 150 networking events, an exhibition and demo zone and workshops, as well as the 28^th edition of the MIPIM Awards, which will honour the most outstanding real estate projects from the past year.

A longstanding tradition of the event is for exhibiting companies to charter a superyacht and utilize it as a hospitality suite to impress, entertain and attract clients

A tradition of the event is for exhibiting companies to charter a superyacht and utilize it as a hospitality suite to impress, entertain and attract clients. Indeed, a corporate yacht charter is the perfect setting for securing deals and doing business.

There is no doubt that show-goers in the South of France will be wowed by the superyachts lined up opposite the exhibition centre resplendent in colouring bunting and branding from the companies in attendence.

MIPIM will run in Cannes until Friday 16^th March and is expected to see the exchange of more than 1000,000 business cards and to be the source of around 35,500 tweets.