MCE 2020 “will run as scheduled”

ITALY: The organiser of next month’s Mostra Convegno Expocomfort (MCE 2020) exhibition in Milan has confirmed that the event will run as scheduled, despite concerns over the coronavirus.

UPDATE 25/2/20: MCE 2020 postponed until September

The coronavirus has been having a negative effect on attendances of both visitors and exhibitors at exhibitions and trade shows worldwide.

A mobile phone exhibition scheduled to take place in Barcelona at the end of this month was recently cancelled due to concerns over the outbreak. Earlier this month, China Refrigeration Expo 2020, one of the world’s major refrigeration and air conditioning shows was postponed due to the coronavirus. Other shows have been hit by exhibitor cancellations and a marked reduction in visitors, particularly from the Far East. 

Reed Exhibitions, organiser of MCE 2020, which is scheduled to take place at Fiera Milano from March 17-20, said it “continues to monitor developments closely” but confirmed that the show “will run as scheduled”.

The last show in 2018 attracted over 162,000 visitors, of which over 10,000 were from Asia. This year’s event features over 2,000 exhibitors, with 256 of those from China.

“At the moment, we have not any official cancellations, the situation is constantly changing,” a spokesperson for the organiser told the Cooling Post.

“We know that some Chinese companies (we have 256 Chinese out of 2322 stands), will attend at the exhibition with representatives of their European headquarters,” the spokesperson added.

“To ensure that our customers and our people have the latest information, we are following the latest guidance from local and national authorities and the World Health Organisation as it relates to travel to and participation in our event.”