A new biennial landmark for the maritime world will make Genoa its stage in November 2026. The Blue Economy Summit & Trade Show (BEST), promoted by Blue Media, aims to become the international reference point for the Blue Economy: a four day convergence of conferences, workshops, exhibitions and networking designed to turn connections into concrete opportunities for business, research and policy. Hosted in the architecturally striking Blue Pavilion by Jean Nouvel, BEST frames the sea not only as an economic asset but as a space for cultural exchange, technological experimentation and sustainable development.
Genoa’s role as host is the culmination of a national roadshow that, from May 2025, has been bringing Blue Economy conversations to major Italian ports. That journey of encounters feeds into BEST’s ambition to combine local specificity with global relevance. BEST gathers infacts institutional leaders, industry innovators, researchers, investors and community actors to share evidence, test ideas and forge partnerships that can scale across regions and borders.
The summit is conceived as an integrated ecosystem where expo and conference reinforce one another. The event’s thematic compass is wide but focused on actionable priorities: decarbonization and new fuels; energy and offshore solutions; security and regulation; supply chain innovation; blue finance; tourism and sustainability; and skills and training for the maritime workforce. These strands will be explored through plenaries, technical workshops, company‑led seminars and sectoral case studies, ensuring that policy, practice and research inform one another.
Over four days the programme balances high‑level institutional debate with sectoral deep dives. The opening day welcomes participants, exhibitors and sponsors and sets the tone with institutional keynotes on the strategic value of the Blue Economy and ocean protection. Subsequent sessions address shipping innovation, regulatory developments, maritime safety and renewable energy; the financial and insurance dimensions; logistics and container transport resilience; coastal tourism and sustainable systems; and the skills required by tomorrow’s maritime industries. Evenings will feature signature moments such as the BEST Awards Ceremony and a Gala Dinner, alongside invitation‑only networking events that consolidate the summit’s business and partnership objectives.
The summit foregrounds collaboration between public and private actors and offers operational dialogue through working groups and roundtables with national ministries, the European Commission and sectoral associations. The event is then designed for a broad, cross sectoral audience: associations, NGOs, port authorities, shipyards, shipping lines, tourism bodies, foundations, ministries, port operators, freight forwarders, maritime tech start ups, legal firms, terminal operators, universities and training institutes will find targeted opportunities for networking, business development and strategic cooperation.
BEST sits at the heart of the broader Blueconomy project, an initiative born to valorize the sea as a strategic arena for innovation, culture and economic growth, knowledge, experience and relationships across the maritime sector. The goal is to create a permanent hub for dialogue, promoting research and digitalization, fostering public private cooperation and investing in training and skills development. For Genoa, the summit is both a moment of visibility and a concrete opportunities to formalize partnerships where ideas, technologies and strategies for the sea can be shared, tested and scaled, as well as to promote new models of collaborations that will shape the Blue Economy’s future.
More Information
https://events.blueconomy.com/it/best/