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News
ProWein cancels 2020 Düsseldorf show
Wine and spirits trade fair ProWein has cancelled its 2020 show due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.
ProWein 2020 has been cancelled due to coronavirus concerns
ProWein had been scheduled to take place from 15-17 March in Düsseldorf, Germany.
However, show organiser Messe Düsseldorf announced last week (29 February) that the 2020 show would not go ahead as planned, and would look for an alternative date.
Today (5 March), Messe Düsseldorf said it had taken the decision to cancel the 2020 show and hold its next ProWein fair on Sunday 21 March to Tuesday 23 March 2021.
Erhard Wienkamp, managing director at Messe Düsseldorf, said the company faced the challenge of having a “very tight trade fair window open for the wine industry – one which is additionally narrowed down by the insecure situation created by the coronavirus”.
He continued: “Against this background the decision is the only correct conclusion to be drawn – all in the interest of the wine and spirits industry.”
ProWein 2019 hosted more than 6,900 exhibitors – 400 of which were spirits brands – hailing from 142 countries. This line-up attracted record visitor numbers for the 2019 show, with 61,500 guests, up from 60,500 the previous year.
According to the organiser, existing contracts between Messe Düsseldorf and the exhibitors will remain valid for the 2021 dates. The same also applies to visitor tickets that have already been purchased.
Last Wednesday (26 July), wine and spirits fair ProWine Asia pushed its 2020 Singapore show back to July due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.
The news comes on the same day as the cancellation of TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition and Conference in Singapore.
The coronavirus outbreak also caused the International Association of Airport and Duty Free Stores (IAADFS) to cancel its Summit of the Americas show in Orlando, US.
Wine and spirits trade show Vinexpo Hong Kong also announced a later date for this year’s show due to coronavirus concerns, moving the dates from May to July.
In the March 2020 issue of The Spirits Business, we took an in-depth look at the impact Covid-19 could have on the spirits industry’s long-term prosperity.