TRADE SHOWS
Materials Shows Postponed Due to Coronavirus Fears, but Première Vision Sport to be Held
Trade-show producer American Events Inc. postponed its NW Materials Show, which was scheduled to run Feb. 12–13 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Ore., due to anxiety over the spread of the coronavirus, it was announced Feb. 3. It had also postponed the NE Materials Show at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston that was scheduled to take place Feb. 5–6. No new dates have been announced.
There have been 450 coronavirus deaths in China, according to media reports, and 11 cases of coronavirus in United States. On Jan. 31, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the entire United States. Major American companies such as Disney, McDonald’s and Starbucks announced that they would temporarily close operations in China. It is unknown if other U.S. trade shows have postponed events because of coronavirus. Show founders Hisham and Kari Muhareb emailed a message to attendees stating that the show would be postponed.
The next scheduled NE and NW Materials Shows are scheduled to take place in July. Secretary Azar said that declaring an emergency was a preventative step to protect U.S. citizens. “While this virus poses a serious public health threat, the risk to the American public remains low at this time, and we are working to keep this risk low,” he said.
In contrast to the decision by American Events Inc., Première Vision event producer made the decision to move forward with its plans to hold its apparel-focused Première Vision Sport show Feb. 12 and 13 at the Oregon Convention Center.
