Geneva watch fair cancelled on coronavirus concerns
A major watch convention in Geneva was cancelled today due to worries over the spread of the coronavirus.
Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, organiser of the Watches & Wonders gathering, today announced the cancellation of the event which was due to be held from 25-29 April.
“In order to protect the health and wellbeing of all our guests, press, partners and teams,
the decision has been taken to cancel the upcoming edition of Watches & Wonders Geneva,” it said in a statement.
It said it took the decision because of the “worldwide spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus”.
There have been two confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Switzerland.
The second case, confirmed today in Geneva, was a man who had recently travelled to Milan in northern Italy which is the main focus of infection in Europe.
Earlier this month the Swatch Group called off its planned watch event in Zurich which was due to take place at the end of February.
“Considering the uncertainty related to the 2019-nCoV Coronavirus outbreak, and in order to guarantee the welfare of our guests, partners, and colleagues, Swatch Group has decided not to hold the Time to Move event,” Swatch said.
The organisers of international property conference Mipim yesterday insisted the event will go ahead in Cannes next month despite a spike in coronavirus cases in Europe.
Contacted for confirmation this morning, the organisers of the event said their position remained the same.
Yesterday, the Estates Gazette reported that real estate giant Cushman & Wakefield had pulled out of the annual property jamboree.