Messe Düsseldorf postpones the leading international trade fairs Interpack and Drupa to February 25 – March 3 and April 20 – 30, 2021 respectively.
According to information gathered, Messe Düsseldorf was following the recommendation of the crisis management team of the German Federal Government to take into account the principles of the Robert Koch Institute when assessing the risk of major events. Based on this recommendation and the recent significant increase in the number of people infected with the new corona virus (COVID-19), including in Europe, Messe Düsseldorf has reassessed the situation. Also, there is the general ruling issued by the city of Düsseldorf on 11 March 2020, in which major events with more than 1,000 participants present at the same time are generally prohibited.
“The city of Düsseldorf is following the instructions of the state government. Our aim is to slow down the spread of the corona virus so that the health system can continue to function properly,” emphasizes Thomas Geisel, Lord Mayor of the state capital of Düsseldorf and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Düsseldorf trade fair company.
Delaying the spread of the virus as far as possible is also a declared goal according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). In order to fulfill Messe Düsseldorf’s responsibility for risk prevention, the company primarily had to minimize the increased risk of infection at major events. Measures to reduce the risk of transmission at major events, which the Robert Koch Institute has clearly defined – such as ventilation of the venue appropriate to the risk of infection, the exclusion of persons from risk groups and the comprehensive installation of entrance screening, were practically impossible to implement.
“We would like to thank all partners for their excellent cooperation in making these difficult and time sensitive decisions. We are pleased that together dates were found so quickly in order to provide all those affected with reliability in planning. Of course, we are also in close contact with the hotel industry and all industries affected by the shifts in order to find feasible solutions”, says Dornscheidt, CEO of Messe Düsseldorf.