What MIPIM is
MIPIM is a major international real estate event, held each March in Cannes. Investors, developers, fund managers, architects and city and regional delegations meet at the Palais des Festivals, in hotel suites along the Croisette and on yachts chartered as floating offices in the port.
Deals and relationships worth large sums are discussed in a few days, and the people involved are visible: their names on stands and panels, their meetings in public places.
City and regional delegations often travel as a group with a political lead, while investors and developers come with small teams and a dense schedule of private meetings. Both benefit from a vehicle that waits nearby rather than a car booked ride by ride.