Spring is when the year starts to move in earnest, and it is the season with the widest geography: Maastricht, Hong Kong, Cheltenham, Dubai, Geneva, Augusta, Milan, Venice, Louisville, New York and Cannes all have their defining week between the first of March and the end of May. The art trade sets the pace. TEFAF Maastricht in mid-March is the fair the old-master and antiques world is built around, Art Basel Hong Kong follows in the last week of the month, and the Venice Biennale's vernissage in early May opens the exhibition the whole art year refers back to. Racing gives spring its second spine: Cheltenham's four days in mid-March, the Dubai World Cup at the end of the month, the Masters in the second week of April, the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday of May and the Prix de Diane and Epsom in the weeks that follow.
Around those fixed points the rest of the season arranges itself. Geneva hosts Watches and Wonders in April and its spring auctions in May. Milan has the Salone del Mobile in April. New York stacks the Met Gala, Frieze New York, TEFAF New York and the spring auctions into three weeks of May. Then Cannes takes the second half of the month and the season stops being spring.
01De bestemmingen
02Hoe het beweegt
March begins in the north and ends in the desert. TEFAF and Cheltenham share the middle of the month; Indian Wells and then the Miami Open carry tennis through the same weeks; the Palm Beach boat show and the St. Barths Bucket occupy the end of the Caribbean season. Art Basel Hong Kong and the Dubai World Cup close the month within days of each other, and Hong Kong's spring auctions run alongside the fair. Monaco's year opens with the Bal de la Rose, and the Amelia Concours in Florida opens the American concours season.
April belongs to Geneva, Augusta and Milan. Watches and Wonders fills Geneva's Palexpo in the first half of the month; the Masters is always the second full week in April; the Salone del Mobile turns Milan over to design for six days in the middle of the month; the Monte-Carlo Masters brings tennis to the Riviera. Sailing returns to the Caribbean with Les Voiles de St. Barth and then Antigua Sailing Week at the end of the month, and the Goodwood Members' Meeting opens the British motoring year.
May is the busiest month of the spring and the one with the clearest sequence. Badminton and the Kentucky Derby open it on the same weekend; the Met Gala follows on the first Monday; New York's art weeks run through the middle of the month; Cannes begins in the second week and holds the Riviera for twelve days; the Chelsea Flower Show and the Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este share the last week; Roland-Garros starts on the final Sunday. Ibiza's clubs open in May, Salzburg's Whitsun Festival falls wherever Pentecost lands, and the Monaco Grand Prix, which from 2026 sits in the first week of June, is what everyone at Cannes is about to leave for.
03De evenementen
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13MarMaastrichtTEFAF Maastricht
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25MarHong KongArt Basel Hong Kong
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27MarDubaiDubai World Cup
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14MarMiami GardensMiami Open
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28FebIndian WellsBNP Paribas Open
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17MarGustaviaSt Barths Bucket Regatta
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8AprAugustaThe Masters
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5Apr
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13Apr
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3AprRoquebrune-Cap-MartinRolex Monte-Carlo Masters
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30AprLouisvilleKentucky Derby
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3MayNew YorkThe Met Gala
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12MayNew YorkFrieze New York
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11MayNew YorkNew York Spring Marquee Auctions
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9MayVeniceVenice Biennale
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11MayCannesCannes Film Festival
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1AprMonte CarloGrand Prix de Monaco Historique
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30AprMiami GardensMiami Grand Prix
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18MayLondonRHS Chelsea Flower Show
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21MayCernobbioConcorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este
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23MayParisRoland-Garros
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1MarParisParis Fashion Week
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14MarLos AngelesAcademy Awards
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16MarCheltenhamCheltenham Festival
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5MayBadmintonMARS Badminton Horse Trials
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2MayBeverly HillsMilken Institute Global Conference
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1AprDubaiArt Dubai
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16MarCannesMIPIM
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1MayMontrealCanadian Grand Prix
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4MarAmelia IslandThe Amelia
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1Apr
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22AprSingaporeSingapore Yachting Festival
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23AprIbizaIbiza Opening Season
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21Apr
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11MarPonte Vedra BeachThe Players Championship
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30Apr
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10AprGoodwoodGoodwood Members' Meeting
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6Nov
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1AprWellingtonU.S. Open Polo Championship
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1MarVancouverTED
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1AprPebble BeachPebble Beach Food & Wine
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1MarMelbourneAustralian Grand Prix
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8AprChicagoEXPO CHICAGO
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3MarMadridARCOmadrid
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18MayIndianapolisIndianapolis 500
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19AprMadridMutua Madrid Open
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13MayNew YorkNYCxDESIGN
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22MayBrescia1000 Miglia
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15MarAustinSXSW
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13MayrotatingPGA Championship
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13MayWindsorRoyal Windsor Horse Show
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10MayNew YorkRobin Hood Benefit
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28Apr
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3JunMonte CarloMonaco Grand Prix
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19AprBordeauxBordeaux En Primeur Week
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20MayCap d'AntibesamfAR Gala Cannes
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27Apr
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1JunLiberty State ParkVeuve Clicquot Polo Classic
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20MarMonte CarloBal de la Rose
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14MayNew YorkTEFAF New York
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21AprEnglish HarbourAntigua Sailing Week
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22MarHong KongHong Kong Spring Auctions
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9AprHong KongHong Kong Sevens
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8May
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17MarWest Palm BeachPalm Beach International Boat Show
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15MayMonte CarloMonaco E-Prix
04Weer
March is unsettled almost everywhere the season goes: Cheltenham can be run in rain or sun, Maastricht is cold, and Hong Kong's spring humidity is already rising. Dubai is warm but not yet hot, and the World Cup meeting is timed for exactly that. April is cool and bright in Geneva and Milan, changeable in Augusta (the Masters has had its weather delays), and genuinely pleasant in Monaco. May is the first reliably warm month on the Riviera, although Cannes has had cold, wet festivals, and it is the month New York, London and Paris are at their most comfortable. The Caribbean's dry season ends in May, which is why the sailing calendar there stops after Antigua.
05Wat volgt
The spring runs directly into the European summer without a pause: Cannes hands the Riviera to Monaco for the Grand Prix in the first week of June, Roland-Garros hands Paris to Chantilly for the Prix de Diane, and Chelsea hands London to Epsom and then Royal Ascot. Le Mans and Art Basel share the middle of June. Anyone following the art line goes from Venice to Basel; anyone following racing goes from Louisville to Epsom; anyone following the coast goes from Cannes to Monaco and then, in July, to Saint-Tropez, Sardinia and the islands.