Organisers of EI Live! 2020 have announced the cancellation of this year’s show following feedback from exhibitors expressing their concerns about a physical event while Covid-19 is still a threat.
Due to take place 21-22 October, organiser David Kitchener, managing director of All Things Media Ltd, is instead arranging a virtual event for the same dates where exhibitors can present their products and services to the industry.
Named ‘EI Live! Interactive Week’, the event will give all exhibitors already booked into the show the opportunity to participate in the week-long programme at no additional cost, and it is only open to EI Live! 2020 exhibitors.
Kitchener spoke to exhibitors last week to gauge their opinion on the show being held this October. He said: “The overwhelming consensus of opinion was that exhibitors did not want to run the risk of putting their staff in danger of catching the virus. I also surveyed all pre-registered visitors with the question, ‘Should the show go ahead, would you attend?’, and it is currently running at 70:30 in favour of not attending.
“What’s more, given recent experiences, if we went ahead with the show and the country experiences a spike with the virus, government could put us on lockdown again, scuppering everything anyway. This was a major fear with exhibitors.”
Dates have not yet been secured for 2021 but organisers are currently working with Farnborough International Exhibition Centre to arrange new dates.
More details on EI Live! Interactive Week are expected soon.