Hannover Messe 2020 postponed to July amid COVID-19 concerns

Hannover Messe 2020, the world’s largest industrial technology fair, has been postponed to July 2020 amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus).

The fair was to take place next month in Hannover, Germany. The new dates are July 13-17, 2020.

Fair organizers Deutsche Messe released a statement today saying they had made the decision with the Hannover Region Health Authority, the Hannover Messe Exhibitors’ Council and the partner associations VDMA (German Engineering Federation) and ZVEI (German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association).

The Hannover Region Health Authority had strongly recommended that Deutsche Messe follow the advice of the Robert Koch Institute, which includes comprehensive measures to safeguard health when hosting major events.

For instance, fever measuring stations needed to be implemented at all entrances and people from risk areas or those who have had contact with people from risk areas would not be allowed to enter the exhibition centre.

This would have entailed a comprehensive evaluation of all trade fair participants – from exhibitors and visitors to service providers, exhibit builders and catering companies, and Deutsche Messe says it is unable undertake those measures. The company also said that the measures would affect the staging of the event to such an extent that the event would not fulfill its purpose or would do so only with considerable restrictions for exhibitors and visitors.

“With the July date, we offer our exhibitors the earliest possible time slot to present their innovations to a global audience and to initiate business,” says Dr. Jochen Köckler, chairman of the board of management of Deutsche Messe AG, in the statement. “In view of the global economic challenges triggered by the coronavirus in the first half of the year, the new date offers great opportunities. Thus the world’s most important industrial trade fair can provide important impetus for the global economy at an early stage.”

VDMA Chief Executive Thilo Brodtmann says, “We assume that the situation will calm down in the coming months and that the mechanical engineering industry will then benefit from a reviving business situation.”

“As an internationally important industrial trade show, its USP is the gathering of people from all over the world,” says Wolfgang Weber, chairman of the ZVEI Management Board. “This can only happen if there are no health risks.”