01 December 2021
The Opti trade show has been rescheduled amidst rising COVID-19 cases in Europe and changes to government restrictions in Germany.
The optics and design trade show had been set to take place 14 – 16 January at Fairground Munich, but will now be postponed until 13 – 15 May 2022.
Explaining the need to postpone, event organisers cited: “Uncontrolled rapidly increasing infection rates in the coronavirus pandemic, and changes to government requirements at short notice” as among factors that have made preparing for the event “impossible.”
Regulations around proof-of-vaccination and visitor restrictions also contributed to the challenges.
Exhibitors played a part in taking the decision to postpone, event organisers said, noting that, due to the uncertain circumstances, it is not possible for Opti exhibitors or visitors to plan their attendance in January.
Klaus Plaschka, managing director of GHM Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH, the organisation behind Opti, shared: "It is currently impossible to predict whether the situation will ease again by January.”
Event organisers still aim to run an event in 2022, but Plaschka said: “In this increasingly acute situation, we can no longer guarantee this for the planned time slot of the event.”
The event organisers have continued to adapt their safety and hygiene plans to ensure the “best possible conditions” for the show, but found that the situation has reached a “peak” of unpredictability, “not least with the latest federal and state regulations, and the resulting U-turn regarding the previously applicable government guidelines.”
Bettina Reiter, director of Opti, commented: “All the underlying new facts and developments, taken together, make postponing Opti the only sensible course of action.”
“I am sure that the exhibitors and visitors will understand this difficult decision,” Reiter continued, adding: “We look forward to seeing everyone again in May.”
Opti 2022 will take place from 13 – 15 May in Munich.
Banner image: Klaus Plaschka, managing director of GHM Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH
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