IBC has announced the cancellation of its 2021 in-person show in Amsterdam. In a statement, the show’s organizers cited growing concerns about the Covid-19 landscape throughout the Netherlands, which has deteriorated over the past week, and feedback from the IBC exhibitor and visitor community.
“The IBC Partnership Board made the decision today in order to prevent exhibitors and visitors from traveling to The Netherlands,” read the statement released this afternoon.
As recently as November 16, the show was still scheduled to go on.
The show will now shift focus to its IBC Digital online offering, which will include a “comprehensive content program, a platform to view the latest products and innovations and the opportunity to meet and connect with the industry”.
A statement from CEO Mike Crimp, read, “From our many conversations, it is clear the industry can’t wait to get back to business and we are committed to delivering an engaging and safe in-person IBC in 2022. We thank you all for your ongoing support.”
IBC 2021 was due to take place from 3rd-6th December in Amsterdam. However, earlier this month the Dutch government announced it was instigating a three-week partial lockdown, which is due to be revisited on 3rd December.
New figures show that a reported 153,957 new cases of coronavirus were registered in the week to Tuesday morning, a new record and a rise of 39 per cent on last week.
