News Focus
British organisers
lead the charge on
coronavirus
The UK’s two biggest global exhibition organisers, Reed
Exhibitions and Informa, have postponed leading events in
China, Singapore and Indonesia, in an attempt to stem the
spread of the virus and protect staff from the outbreak
POSTPONED OR CANCELLED*
Informa
• LED China, Shenzhen, China 24-26
February
• SEASONS Spring – Fashion
Jewellery & Accessories Fair Hong
Kong 3-6 March
• FHA-HoReCa Singapore 3-6 March
– new dates confirmed as 13-16 July
2020
• WINDOOR Guangzhou, China 5-7
March
• International Lighting Fair
Guangdong, China 18-21 March
Reed Exhibitions
• PCHi, Shanghai, China 26 February
(new dates 02 June)
• CMEF, Jakarta, Indonesia 11 March
(new dates 01 July)
• Asia Pacific Maritime, Singapore 18
March (new dates 30 September)
*Correct at time of print
14 — March
R
eed Exhibition’s new CEO,
Hugh Jones, said: “Our number one
priority is the health and safety of our
employees and our customers. We will
not hesitate to postpone an event to
assure the safety and wellbeing of all
those involved. I am pleased to confirm
that no-one in Reed Exhibitions has
been diagnosed with the virus to date.
“To ensure that our customers and
our people have the latest information,
we are following the latest guidance
from local and national governmental
authorities and the World Health
Organization (WHO) as it relates
to travel to and participation in our
events.
“We are also working with authorities
and our venues to put contingency
plans in place as the situation develops.
We have an official statement that has
been translated and posted to all event
websites and we have a fully staffed
24/7 hotline to supply general advice
and information to our customers.”
Informa has cancelled or postponed
five events in China, Hong Kong and
Singapore. A spokesperson for the
company said: “We are in close contact
with our business partners, venues
and the authorities in China on what
is a developing situation. Alongside
supporting the colleagues we have,
our teams are focused on forming
alternative plans for upcoming events
where needed.
“As it happens, our events schedule
in Q1 in China is relatively light. The
few we run are typically smaller and
therefore more straightforward to
postpone to later in the year, and we
are in the process of doing this, with
customers being kept informed along
the way.”
Talking about economic impact,
Jones adds: “In terms of impact to the
region, any sizeable modern industry
will have an international supply chain,
and China has become central to that
reality. It is therefore not surprising to
see that Asia’s supply chains have been
impacted by the disruption caused by
the virus and governments’ response
to it.
“Coronavirus has hit car
manufacturing in China, port traffic,
global shipping, cruise travel and even
mining. Naturally, our immediate
attention is most closely focused on
China and the surrounding commercial
centres in the region. Central and
local governments have put in place
restrictions on the size of groups
congregating in China and that same
restriction is now in place in Singapore.
“This has had the obvious effect:
dozens of trade fairs and conferences
are pushed-back or in some cases
cancelled. Exhibitors will certainly
scale back participation in some
events. The exhibition community will
need to work diligently together to
find appropriate spaces for a wave of
postponements. At Reed Exhibitions
we are working closely with our long-
standing and trusted partners in the
region to deliver solutions tailored to
the particular exhibition’s opening
date, location, and audience.”
Both organisers continue to monitor
the situation.