Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
Here’s a list of the 2020 casualties in our industry shows, conferences, exhibitions and general get-togethers.
They are listed in date-they-would-have-happened order, so March, 2020 through to the end of the year…
- Light + Building 2020 originally due to run March 8-13, 2020 but rescheduled to September 27 – October 2, 2020 has now been cancelled. The biannual trade show for lighting and building services technology will return March 13-18, 2022.
- Advertising Week Europe which was scheduled to take place March 16-19, 2020 before being moved to September 14-17, 2020 will now no longer go ahead as a week’s worth of in-person events in London. In its place is an “immersive virtual conference happening September 29 – October 9, 2020”
- ISC West 2020 was originally due to take place March 17-20, 2020 in Las Vegas. On March 6, 2020 the organisers announced the postponement of the 2020 edition to July 20-22. In April they re-scheduled it for October 5-8. It has now finally been, totally canceled as an in-person event. Reed Exhibitions, along with Premier Sponsor SIA (Security Industry Association) have said that they will transform ISC West 2020 into an all-virtual event occurring on October 5-7, 2020. ISC West will hopefully return to the Sands Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada for an in-person event to take place on March 23-26, 2021
- The ANA Marketers Media Conference, scheduled for March 25-27 at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa has been cancelled.
- The Prolight + Sound exhibition, which had been scheduled to run March 31-April 3 and was then postponed until May 26-29, 2020 has now been cancelled altogether.
- Beijing InfoComm China 2020 which was scheduled to take place March 26-28, 2020 has been rescheduled and will now take place September 28-30, 2020 at the China National Convention Center (CNCC).
- #dse2020, which was due to run March 31-April 3, 2020 was first re-scheduled to September 15-18, 2020 then November 11-13, 2020. The organisers have since entered Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.
- CinemaCon 2020 which was due to run March 30-April 2 in Las Vegas has been cancelled
- Passenger Terminal Expo which was supposed to take place in Paris, March 31-April 2, 2020 will not now take place this year. It has been re-scheduled for April 13-15, 2021 and will take place at the RAI, Amsterdam.
- ISA Sign Expo 2020 which was scheduled to take place April 1-4 in Orlando, FL was initially postponed until Sunday, August 23 – Tuesday, August 25, 2020 has now been cancelled for this year.
- Interop Tokyo 2020, CMT 2020, Digital Signage Japan 2020, Location Business Japan 2020 and APPS Japan 2020, scheduled for April 13-15, 2020 at Makuhari Messe, Japan have all been cancelled. The shows will return June 16-18, 2021.
- The NAB Show which was scheduled for April 18-22 in Las Vegas has been cancelled. The organisers initially said “NAB is evaluating a number of alternatives to the April show” but an update from them on March 20 said that the show would NOT now take place this year.
- The #SBS20 #stadiumbiz 11th Annual Stadium Business Summit & Venue Tech Showcase which was due to take place April 21 – 22, 2020 before re-scheduling to September 28-30, 2020 will now take place December 2-3, 2020
- The 2020 Geopath/OAAA Convention and Expo which was to take place April 27-29, 2020 at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona has been cancelled.
- RetailEXPO 2020, which was scheduled to take place from April 29-30 in Olympia, London has been cancelled. The organisers recently also announced that it would not take place in 2021.
- The ICAS AGM and Conference planned for May 4, 2020 in Marina del Rey, California has been cancelled.
- The AdClub of Toronto’s DIGITAL DAY 2020 which was due to take place Thursday May 7, 2020 has been cancelled.
- #rbewc2020 The Retail and Brand Experience World Congress which was scheduled to take place May 12-14, 2020 in Barcelona was quickly re-scheduled for November 17-19, 2020, at Fira Gran Via Barcelona to take place alongside the 10th edition of the Smart City Expo World Congress (but that event has now also been cancelled)
- PLASA Focus Leeds, which was due to take place on 12-13 May at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds has been cancelled for this year.
- madconNYC which was scheduled for May 12-13, 2020 at the Brooklyn Expo Center has been postponed now until December 1-2, 2020
- UCEXPO 2020 which was due to take place Wednesday May 13 – Thursday May 14 at ExCeL, London was re-scheduled for September 30 – October 1, 2020 at the same venue has now been cancelled in its entirety as an in-person event.
- InfoComm Southeast Asia 2020 originally scheduled to take place May 27 – 29, 2020, then postponed to July 9 – 11, 2020 (Thursday – Saturday) has now been completely cancelled for this year
- The World Out of Home Organization cancelled its Toronto Congress which would have taken place June 3-5, 2020. It will next take place May 12-14, 2021.
- The Society of Information Display (SID)’s Display Week 2020 due to be held June 7 to 12 which was supposed to take place in San Francisco, CA was initially pushed back to early August at the San Jose Convention Center, CA. The event has now been CANCELLED and will be replaced by an online only event same dates, August 2-7, 2020.
- The 2020 Outdoor Media Awards due to be held in London on June 11, 2020 have been cancelled.
- The 2020 SEGD Conference Experience which was to be held June 11-13, 2020 in Portland has been canceled
- #InfoComm20 which was scheduled for June 13‑19 in Las Vegas, Nevada has been cancelled.
- The 2020 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity which was scheduled to take place Monday to Friday June 22-26, 2020 and was initially re-scheduled to October 26-30, 2020 has now been cancelled for this year. The next edition of the Festival will run June 21-25, 2021.
- The AV Magazine’s #AVAwards has been rescheduled. It was going to take place on Thursday, June 25 at Battersea Evolution, London but will now take place Friday November 20, 2020.
- The Digital Signage Summit Europe which was scheduled to take place at the Hilton Munich Airport, Germany on July 1-2, 2020 has been cancelled
- Integrate Expo which was scheduled to take place August 19-21, 2020 in Sydney has been cancelled for this year. It will next take place in Melbourne August 24-26, 2021.
- TecnoMultimedia InfoComm Mexico scheduled for August 19-21 in Mexico City has been cancelled
- The 2020 Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin, better known as IFA Berlin and billed as “the largest consumer electronics trade fair in the world”, which last year attracted more than 1800 exhibitors and 250,000 visitors has, despite what the organisers say, effectively been cancelled. The event was due to take place Friday, September 4 through to Wednesday, September 9, 2020 In its place will be a shortened three day event (new dates September 3-5, 2020). The event will allow a maximum of just 1,000 attendees to each section of the event per day and will not be open to the public. This follows a decision by the Berlin government to ban all events with more than 5,000 participants until October 24, 2020.
- The PLASA Show which was scheduled for its first year at Olympia Sunday September 6 – Tuesday September 8, 2020 has been cancelled, It will return to Olympia, London for 5-7 September, 2021.
- The 2020 CEDIA Expo which was due to take place Tuesday September 8, 2020 through to Saturday September 12, 2020 has been cancelled
- #IBC2020 which was due to run at the RAI, Amsterdam Friday, September 11, 2020 through to Monday September 14, 2020 has been cancelled.
- Paris Retail Week which should have taken place September 15-17, 2020 has been cancelled.
- Technology for Marketing which was scheduled to take place at ExCeL London, UK September 30 – October 1, 2020 has been cancelled as an in-person event. An online only Technology for Marketing Virtual 2020 will take its place September 29 to October 1, 2020
- The 2020 NACS global convenience store trade show, which was scheduled for October 11-14 inside the Las Vegas Convention Center, has been cancelled
- CES Unveiled in Paris, scheduled for October 7, and CES Unveiled in Amsterdam, scheduled for October 15-16, are canceled. They will now be combined into a one-day, digital-only conference with a focus on Europe on October 15, 2020.
- TecnoMultimedia InfoComm Brazil scheduled for October 20-22, 2020 has been cancelled
- The 2020 NAB Show New York, which was always scheduled for October 21-22, 2020 has been cancelled as an in-person event. It is following suit with the NAB’s spring conference and going virtual.
- SEMICON EUROPA which was due to take place in Munich November 10-13, 2020 has been cancelled.
- Smart City Expo World Congress which was due to take place Tuesday November 17 to Friday November 20, 2020 has been cancelled as an in-person event. In its place is Smart City Live (November 17-18, 2020), a virtual program of day-long broadcasting plus dedicated online workshops, sessions, and side events.
- AV Magazines #AVAwards that was scheduled for November 20 has been turned into a virtual event (yes, go figure that one)
The list of 2021 #COVID19 event casualties can be found here.
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