After intensive
consultation, Koelnmesse GmbH has finally made a decision to call off
the Photokina 2020, which was going to be held from 27thto 30th May 2020. The next Photokina will be held from
18th to 21st May 2022. The Imaging Innovation
Conference will not celebrate its premier this year as planned,
though a new date will be announced soon.
The managing team of
Koelnmesse has planned not to create any own events on the part of
Koelnmesse until the end of June 2020. This decision is supported by
the crisis management team of the City of Cologne, which also
suggested in its meeting on 18.03.2020 to cancel the trade fairs deu
to COVID-19 outbreak.
This also happens against the background
of the agreement reached on 16.03.2020 between the German federal
government and the governments of the German states, laying down
common guidelines for dealing with the coronavirus epidemic and
explicitly including the general closure of trade fairs and
exhibitions. This impairs the planning security for Koelnmesse and
the participants of the trade fairs in Cologne far beyond the scope
of the current scenarios. With this early announcement, Koelnmesse
wants to give its exhibitors and visitors planning security.
The
decision not to host the next edition of photokina until May 2022 was
made with in view of several factors: Even before the appearance of
the coronavirus, the imaging market was already subject to strongly
dynamic movements. This trend will now gain momentum and must be
factored into plans for the upcoming photokina. Added to this is the
fact that our customers’ resources are already under heavy strain
in 2021 – as a result of general economic trends as well as
rescheduled events on the global trade fair calendar. The orientation
towards 2022 gives everyone involved time enough to design the next
photokina with an eye to the needs of the market, and of our
exhibitors and visitors.
Kai Hillebrandt, Chairman of the
Photo Industry Association said “It goes without saying that PIV
completely stands behind the decision taken by Koelnmesse to cancel
photokina 2020. The health of exhibitors and visitors is top priority
at the moment. As the conceptual sponsor of photokina, we will do our
utmost to assist the Koelnmesse with the planning of the next edition
of photokina.”
