As we enter the third year of the pandemic, the return to normalcy continues to hit roadblocks in the form of new Covid variants. Of course, we’re far from where we were in March 2020, but nonetheless, we’re seeing more all-too-familiar headlines about major events postponing until later in the year, and event calendars remain anything but certain.
The industry is currently split between those that are postponing or switching to a virtual format out of an abundance of caution, and those that are forging ahead with in-person plans as scheduled.
CES, for example, took a risk by moving forward with its event last week amid the latest Covid surge, and the impact from a public health perspective remains to be seen. If there is no evidence of significant spreading of the virus, the event will be an encouraging example for the rest of the industry — and for now, CES is scheduled to take place as usual next year, from January 5-8.
However, other events are taking a more cautious route, with IMEX announcing last week that its Frankfurt show, originally scheduled for April 26-28, has been pushed back by five weeks and will now take place From May 31st to June 2nd.
IMEX CEO Carina Bauer explained in a statement, “Everyone in our industry can see the current situation in Europe and knows that, with trade shows depending on such long lead times, it doesn’t support a show in April. We strongly believe that a late May edition of IMEX in Frankfurt will allow everyone to move ahead and plan with certainty and confidence.”
This pandemic has been full of uncertainty and unpredictability, but we’ve now experienced two years of significant surges of the virus over the winter months. There have also been summer surges, but mild weather in the summer months makes safer, outdoor gatherings for events more feasible.
Should Covid become a seasonal virus like the flu — which scientists are still looking into — we may see events like IMEX and CES choose to push their event schedules back for good to avoid the winter or early spring months. Another major event to announce a postponement last week was the Grammy Awards, which will be taking place later this year but has yet to be officially rescheduled.
“Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31st simply contains too many risks,” read a joint statement from the Recording Academy and CBS, which airs the awards show. The Grammys were also postponed to March last year to wait out the Covid surge in Southern California in January, and even then the show was pared down and did not include its usual live audience as a safety precaution.
As we continue to learn more about the coronavirus and eventually learn to live with it, people may be less concerned about traveling and attending events even during a surge — particularly when measures like vaccinations are required — and state and local restrictions will likely also evolve and lessen in severity. However, if the winter months continue to seem more risky, it may very well lead certain events to plan for a safer date from the get-go rather than risk having to reschedule, and business calendars would need to shift accordingly.