From 2-6 May 2026, the 11th edition of the Mediterranean Yacht Show (MEDYS) returned to Nafplio with a renewed sense of confidence, along with the much-anticipated Chef’s Competition and Tablescaping Competition, which once again underscored the culinary standards within the charter fleet.
Across the quays of the historic Peloponnesian port, brokers, captains and crews gathered for what has become Greece’s defining yachting fixture. MEDYS has continued to cement its position as one of the Mediterranean’s most important trade-focused charter events, offering brokers an invaluable opportunity to experience the Greek charter fleet at the start of the season.
One of the week’s highlights was the show’s much-anticipated Chef’s Competition and Tablescaping Competition, which once again underscored the culinary standards within the charter fleet. This year’s challenge called on contestants to elevate a familiar, everyday ingredient into a refined gastronomic creation under the theme "The Greek Tomato: Reimagined." For this, chefs were invited to explore the tomato in all its forms, fresh, dehydrated, fermented, or through contemporary techniques.
Across the board, the tomato was presented with sublime creativity, from sorbets to salads. The entries were encouraged to lean into Mediterranean ingredients and Greek flavours, with dishes featuring local seafood, citrus, olive oil and wild herbs, but the tomato was to be the main ingredient.
The judging panel for this year’s Chefs’ Competition included two acclaimed chefs: Chef George Papazacharias of two Michelin-starred Delta in Athens and Chef Luca Piscazzi, Head Chef of the Michelin-starred Pelagos at the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens. There were two categories for the competition: Gold (for yachts with a high-season daily charter rate up to €8,999 per day) and Platinum (for yachts with a high-season daily charter rate of €9,000 per day or more).
“The remarkable increase in participation at this year’s Mediterranean Yacht Show reflects the continued upward trajectory of the sector, as the Greek fleet continues to evolve and expand,” Ioannis Kourounis, the president of the Greek Yachting Association (GYA), said. “Greece is now firmly established among the world’s leading yachting destinations, while MEDYS demonstrates in practice how a single yacht generates an entire ecosystem around it, from crews to local businesses. With the appropriate investment in infrastructure and education, this show will continue to elevate the overall value of our tourism product.”
The Winners
Category MEDYS Platinum
1st Prize Chef Konstantinos Tsiatsios – Palatial
2nd Prize Chef Nikolaos Petroutsos – Rini V
3rd Prize Chef Andreas Peponis – M/Y Wombat
Tablescaping Award: Eva Klesk – M/Y Malen
Category MEDYS Golden
1st Prize Chef Barbara Makrinikola – Alma
2nd Prize Chef Antonis Pazianas – D2
3rd Prize Chef Grigoris Kalaitzakis – Serenity
Tablescaping Award: Marianna Armaou - Horizons 4
MEDYS entered its second decade with more than 100 yachts on display, ranging from classic sailing yachts to the latest generation of Mediterranean-focused charter platforms. At the top end of the scale was 71.7-metre Kogo, with Burgess, followed by 69.5-metre Nomad with Fraser Greece, but it’s not just size that makes the yachts on display so impressive.
“The show this year is bigger, with almost 130 applications for yachts,” noted Kourounis. “The number of brokers attending the show this year is higher than last year; it’s a record show, and we're very happy.”
The town’s Venetian architecture, harbourside restaurants and relaxed atmosphere act as an extension of the show with meetings filling the restaurants during the lunch breaks. Throughout the show, however, invitation-only lunches are held on board for the brokers, offering a taste of the experience. In the evenings, the show features late dinners overlooking the Argolic Gulf and a series of parties and social events, including the Istion Yachting White Thing Party.
While brokers acknowledged that clients are becoming more discerning and proceeding cautiously amid the current geopolitical climate, there was widespread agreement that the Greek charter market is expected to enter the 2026 charter season on a strong footing, with many yachts receiving back-to-back bookings. “We will have a good season that will be around the same as 2025 if not higher,” predicted Kourounis.
Now firmly established as a cornerstone of the Mediterranean charter calendar, MEDYS will return in 2027 bigger and better than ever before.