Due to the continuing spread of COVID-19, the organisers of each show have decided to reschedule the events. The wellbeing of visitors, exhibitors and staff is at the heart of the decision to postpone by each organiser.
The announcement from FESPA was made on March 4th 2020. FESPA CEO Neil Felton explained: “Until this week, our actions with regard to COVID-19 […] have been informed by guidance from the relevant international and national authorities, with the primary objective of safeguarding the health and wellbeing of exhibitors and visitors. However, in light of the recent spread of the virus in specific areas of mainland Europe, we have consulted with our stakeholders and have concluded that it is in the best interests of our community to defer the events to a later date.”
Originally scheduled to take place at IFEMA Madrid, March 24-27, FESPA Global Print Expo 2020 would have been co located with two other shows: European Sign Expo 2020 and Sportswear Pro 2020. Currently there is no news on how long the show will be postponed for. FESPA will provide updated venue and event dates as soon as they are available.
The Photography Show organisers, Future, made the decision to postpone on March 9th 2020. Co-located with The Video Show, The Photography Show 2020 would have taken place March 14-17 at Birmingham NEC. The two shows are now due to take place in September, with dates to be confirmed.
Jonny Sullens, Head of Events at Future, explained: “We are incredibly disappointed that we’ve had to take this action so close to the event opening. However, it became clear that the recent acceleration in COVID-19 cases in the UK has led to heightened concerns for all participants and the show would be negatively impacted from all perspectives should we have proceeded. We understand how important the show is both from an industry and community point of view so we are pleased that we are able to postpone to September when we are hopeful that the threat of COVID-19 will have significantly rescinded.”
Innova Art Hoping To Attend Rescheduled Events
Innova Art were due to exhibit at both FESPA Global Print Expo 2020 and The Photography Show 2020. Whilst the team are disappointed that the events will not be taking place in March 2020, the decision to postpone is understandable.
Nevelle Bower, CEO at Innova Art, commented “As an international company with employees around the world, we fully understand the decisions from the organisers of these two trade shows. In light of the developing situation with COVID-19 we all have a duty of care to ensure that the population is protected from potential infection wherever possible. It is unfortunate that the events have been postponed as Innova Art find them to be valuable every time we attend. We look forward to the new dates being confirmed and hope that we will be able to attend when The Photography Show and FESPA Global Print Expo take place.”