Organisers and exhibitors of two major tradeshows in Spain have saved their events by postponing rather than cancelling in order, they say, to “guarantee a successful edition against the backdrop of coronavirus anxieties”.
Fira de Barcelona has announced it will now run its Alimentaria and Hostelco tradeshows in September instead of in the 20-23 April slot at the Gran Via venue.
Organisers said the decision to postpone was taken to “guarantee successful tradeshows for all exhibitors and visitors from numerous countries around the world”.
Alimentaria’s organising committee and Hostelco’s organising team (made up of some of the leading sectoral companies in Spain) deemed it appropriate to postpone the tradeshows until 14-17 September, “thus ensuring the holding of a successful event with optimal commercial and networking prospects and a high attendance of international visitors and buyers”.
Constantí Serrallonga, Fira de Barcelona’s General Manager, explained that, “although the hired space is practically full, we’ve reached this decision following an in-depth assessment of the situation and after listening to the sector, whose support we appreciate, with the aim of guaranteeing the smooth running of such an important international event, after finding suitable alternative dates in our tradefair calendar”.
Organisers added that the preparation of Alimentaria and Hostelco, organised by Alimentaria Exhibitions, a Fira de Barcelona company, was proceeding with great intensity from the commercial standpoint, with activities and presentation of new products planned and high attendance expectations. They forecast that almost the entire Gran Via venue will once again be occupied.
The two tradeshows jointly comprise one of the largest international platforms for the food, gastronomy and catering equipment industry, with more than 4,500 exhibiting companies (1,000 of them from 70 countries) and about 150,000 visitors (30% of them international) from 156 countries.
Other events as scheduled
In the meantime, the preparation for other events focusing on different areas and sectors that the Fira intends to organise this year at its Gran Via and Montjuïc venues is currently continuing at a healthy pace. Specifically organisers say the Saló de l’Ensenyament, Futura, the Youth Employment Fair and B-Travel will be held in March.
Similarly, just like other European entities and fairgrounds, the Barcelona tradefair institution is maintaining close contact with health officials to track the evolution of Covid-19 and comply with the established protocols, in accordance with the guidelines of the local authorities and the WHO (World Health Organisation).
The latest information from the World Health Organisation on Covid-19 is available here:
- France, meanwhile, 9 March, has moved to ban gatherings of more than 1,000 people, as health authorities reported an increase in the number of recorded infections (to 1,126).
The new restrictions on large events expand on measures previously announced in coronavirus hotspots to apply them nationwide, Health Minister Olivier Veran said. “The priority is to do all we can to slow the transmission of the virus,” he added.
