Following close consultation with exhibitors and partners, the 2021 edition of Drupa, the world’s leading trade fair for Printing Technologies, will be cancelled due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The next event will take place as scheduled from 28 May to 7 June 2024. To maintain the momentum until then, the organizers will be holding a four-day digital event titled ‘virtual.drupa’, to take place from 20 to 23 April 2021 during the time frame Drupa was originally scheduled for.
“The pandemic has caused a great deal of uncertainty among exhibitors and visitors in terms of their attendance at Drupa 2021. Travel restrictions and budget constraints have further exacerbated the situation in the printing industry”, explains Erhard Wienkamp, COO at Messe Düsseldorf. “We have taken this decision in consultation with our partners, who are entirely supportive of it. It was preceded by a detailed process of considering the current conditions and the needs of the industry.”
Sabine Geldermann, Project Director Print Technologies, adds: “Our primary goal remains to support the industry in any way we can to keep in contact at a national and international level, further develop their network and generate leads. To this end, we will be holding an interim event from 20 to 23 April, providing our exhibitors and visitors with an additional sales channel and allowing them to make reliable plans.”
“Today's decision to cancel Drupa 2021 and present it in a different format has been an event- and industry-specific one”, Wienkamp concludes. “Messe Düsseldorf remains in close contact with the authorities and its partners of all other events, and we will evaluate the circumstances in a timely manner to take the responsible decision.”
We will keep our Canadian clients up to date with industry and partner news about Virtual Drupa as they become available!
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