Eurobike Flags Possible Reschedule to November
Europe’s key cycling industry event Eurobike could be set to postpone as coronavirus disruption continues across the continent.
Organiser Messe Friedrichshafen has now cancelled the media events – scheduled in the run up to the main event, in Solden and Frankfurt – due to restrictions around the coronavirus pandemic.
Eurobike itself is scheduled for 2nd to 5th September and the organisers are intent on hitting the date, but have conceded that there is a Plan B: to run the event at the end of November 2020. In a more recent update the German government has banned all large events until at least 31st August, making Eurobike’s initial dates theoretically possible, but highly risky.
Messe Friedrichshafen will make its decision by mid-May at the latest.
“Unfortunately, the Corona pandemic has left us with no other option,” Head of Eurobike, Stefan Reisinger. “In Austria, all events are cancelled until at least the end of June and given the current industry requirements and contact and travel restrictions, the early-July Frankfurt date is foreseeably too early. These exceptional circumstances mean that it makes more sense to bring together all the new innovations and present them at Eurobike.”
“We are aware that there is currently no way to guarantee holding the Eurobike show at its early-September date. It’s not just the actual show preparations that have to be considered, but also the dependency on border openings, travel possibilities, the availability of passenger capacities and accommodation capacity. This is why we have “reserved” a possible later Eurobike date from 25 – 28 November 2020 to have maximum flexibility.
“By mid May at the latest, we will make a decision based on the information available and announce whether Eurobike 2020 will run as planned from 2 – 5 September or whether it makes sense to postpone it by two and half months. By consulting trade and industry evaluations and the political conditions in a few weeks, we will be able to make a more appropriate decision, based on the specific market situation.”
This article was first published in Cycling Industry News (UK)