Another major maritime trade fair has been called off due to health concerns and travel challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Posidonia 2020, originally planned for June 2020 and subsequently postponed to October 2020, has been canceled.
"We have reached this difficult decision following close consultation with many exhibitors and with our shipping community stakeholders, after assessing the current state of COVID-19 in countries around the world," the event's organizers said in a statement on Monday.
"We are embarking on our preparations for the next Posidonia in June 2022 with optimism and the confidence that well before then we will have entered a world with COVID-19 under control," organizers said.
The exhibition, held biennially in Athens, Greece, has long been one of the shipping industry's major calendar events, attracting influential attendees from the Greek and international maritime community.
Posidonia 2018 welcomed 2,009 exhibiting companies from 92 countries and territories and was attended by 23,527 visitors from 104 countries. In total, the exhibition was attended by 39,485 participants including exhibitors, visitors and media representatives.