Mido 2020 postponed over coronavirus emergency

Mido 2020 has been postponed in response to the ongoing CoVID-19 emergency.

The 50^th edition of the major eyewear trade show was due to take place in Milan between 29 February and 2 March.

President of Mido, Giovanni Vitaloni, said that the show couldn’t conceivably celebrate 50 years when Italy and the world was “experiencing such an international crisis.”

The news comes as Italy struggles to contain Europe’s largest coronavirus outbreak. Events including Venice Carnival have closed, and neighbouring Austria is reportedly considering closing its border.

Italy is the worst-affected country outside of Asia, with four deaths and 152 confirmed cases.

Mido’s Board of Directors announced on Saturday 22 February that the show would be postponed until as yet undecided dates between the end of May and mid-June.

Mr Vitaloni said: “We took this decision out of respect for the current alarming situation and for our exhibitors and visitors.

“As this health crisis is developing in Italy, we could not but choose to postpone Mido’s 2020 edition. We immediately defined and selected a timeframe within the year which could meet the needs of the eyewear industry at a national and international level.

“We are aware that this decision will require industry professionals, exhibitors, buyers, press members, opticians and everyone working for Mido, including our staff, to re-schedule their attendance, with a significant impact on all internal organisations.

“It will be a two-fold effort as we are just a week away from the show, but we cannot honestly think of celebrating our 50 years when the world - and our country now in particular - is experiencing such an international crisis.”

Mr Vitaloni added that he hoped “our exhibitors and visitors, the media and everyone involved will understand our decision” and that the situation had “compelled us to do something that we never wanted to do, especially for this special edition, the year of our 50^th birthday.”

New dates for Mido 2020 will be announced in the coming days, in order to let exhibitors and visitors re-schedule their presence at the show alongside any restrictions or guidelines that are put in place.