Coronavirus casts its shadow over several industry events

Quarantines, regions under virtual lockdown, deserted streets, curb on global travel, cancellations of events, sports events sans audience in stadiums – welcome to the new reality of living amid a dangerous pathogen attack. The attack of N-Covid19 (or Novel Coronavirus 2019) continues unabated across the world and with 29 cases now reported in India, the country is on high alert. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tweet advised people to stay away from mass gatherings to avoid the spread of N-Covid19 and said that he would not participate in any Holi Milan programme this year. 

Several industry events as well as sports events have either been cancelled or postponed to a later date due to the threat of the virus. In February this year, the AdFest organising committee had announced that it was postponing the AdFest even, which was scheduled to be held from March 18-21, 2020, until later this year. They announced on Twitter that this decision was taken “due to the global emergency caused by the rapid spread of Coronavirus”. 

Now media reports have emerged regarding the Goafest 2020 event being postponed as several international speakers who were to take part in the event had cancelled their visit to India. However, there is no official confirmation on this news. Goafest 2020, as of now, is scheduled to be held from April 2-4. 

Earlier this year, GSM Association cancelled the major tech event – World Mobile Congress 2020, which was scheduled to be held in Barcelona between February 24 and 27. 

The Google I/O developer conference has also been cancelled. The Google Cloud Next ’20 conference will now be an online event. 

Facebook, too, has cancelled its Global Marketing Summit, which was scheduled to be held in San Francisco from March 9-12. Facebook F8 conference for developers and entrepreneurs also stands cancelled, though it will have an online component. 

According to a report by Vox.com, losses due to cancellation of tech industry events as a fallout of Coronavirus spread will cross $500 million. 

Sports 

The industry is keenly watching the scenario unfold over the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which will take place from July 24-August 9, and Indian Premier League 2020, to be held between March 29 and May 24. As of now, the organising committees of both the mega events have insisted that there is no threat due to Coronavirus. 

In the case of football, a unique approach is being taken, wherein matches are being held in stadiums without the attendance of sports fans. Italy and Tunisia have taken to this recourse. Elsewhere, matches have either been postponed or cancelled – including, Swiss Soccer League, AFC Cup, Asian Champions League and Japan’s J League, among others.