Will the Fort Lauderdale boat show go on? It wants the green light from Broward County.

David Lyons, South Florida Sun Sentinel
·1 min read

Emboldened by a regional decline in COVID-19 cases, the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show intends to move ahead with plans for its annual five-day exhibition that typically draws more than 100,000 visitors.

If the six-decade show were to proceed, it would break a string of major South Florida event cancellations including the Winterfest Boat Parade in Fort Lauderdale and Art Basel in Miami Beach. The boat show is scheduled to start Oct. 28 and end Nov. 1 at a half-dozen venues in the city along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Boat show ticket sales were supposed to start Monday, Sept. 7, according to its website. But the notice disappeared from the site on Thursday.

Officials of the U.S. boat show unit of Informa Markets, the London-based company that operates the show owned by the Marine Industries Association of South Florida, have met privately with Broward County officials, presumably to discuss public health issues.