ProWine Singapore is the latest wine fair to be cancelled due to worries over COVID-19 outbreak. The event was scheduled for 31 March to 3 April 2020 at Singapore Expo, alongside the inaugural FHA-Food & Beverage event.
“The safety and well-being of our exhibitors, event attendees and staff is our top priority,” said Martyn Cox, the event director of hospitality, food & beverage for Singapore – Informa Markets, organisers of the FHA-Food & Beverage event. “There has been signs of community spread and local authorities have issued advisories to avoid large crowds, as a result we expect event attendance to be affected.”
ProWine Singapore follows the 4 February 2020 cancellation of the China Food & Drinks Fair (CFDF) in Chengdu, which was supposed to open in late March. According to organisers, the CFDF attracts some 3,000 exhibitors and 300,000 visitors and does RMB20 billion ($3bn) in deals each year.
Wine and food events across southeast Asia have been cancelled or postponed, as more than 70,000 COVID-19 infections have been confirmed in China, with cases also confirmed in Cambodia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. Singapore has the highest tally of cases outside China.
“We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all exhibitors and partners for supporting the exhibitions and are committed to working towards the best possible outcome,” said Beattrice J. Ho, project director of ProWine Asia (Singapore). “We are working actively with all partners to find a suitable alternative date.”
The new dates will be announced shortly. ProWine Singapore is owned by Messe Düsseldorf.
