After 70 years of holding its leading photographic trade show in Cologne, Germany, Photokina may be no more. The world's largest photo trade fair has announced that due to a "massive decline in markets for imaging products," it will be discontinued indefinitely.
On March 12, 2020, the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) held a webinar with General Counsel Thomas Maddrey entitled “Potential Business Ramifications of Coronavirus (COVID-19).” Maddrey covered a variety of topics, including cancellation clauses in photographer contracts.
The organizers of Photokina 2020 have finally announced what we expected all along: the 2020 trade show has been cancelled due to public health concerns surrounding the novel coronavirus. The show will not take place again until May 2022.
NAB 2020 has been cancelled. The National Association of Broadcasters has decided to follow in the footsteps of CP+, MWC, SWSX and others by cancelling the 2020 expo in April in the interest of "keeping the community safe and healthy."
Despite MWC, then CP+, and now other major expos like them being cancelled due to fears about the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus, the organizers of Photokina 2020 have announced that "there is no reason to cancel at this stage" and that the show will go on as planned.
PetaPixel has learned that the CP+ 2020 expo in Japan—one of the largest photo industry trade shows in the world—has been cancelled due to fears over the recent coronavirus outbreak. An official announcement from the show is expected shortly. (UPDATE: Confirmed)
Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain—the world's biggest trade show for smartphone makers—has officially been cancelled for 2020. The news comes after several of the biggest exhibitors pulled out of the show at the last minute due to fears about the spread of the Coronavirus.
Photokina is still the world's leading imaging expo, but changes to its structure and a struggling industry may be pushing participants away. In a press release published to the expo's website, the trade show's organizer Koelnmesse revealed that Nikon, Leica and Olympus have all chosen to skip Photokina 2020.
Photokina announced in 2017 that starting in 2018, the previously biennial photography trade fair -- the largest in the world -- would become an annual event. The event is also moving from September to May. Since May 2019 is only just over 7 months after the latest show in September 2018, the organizers have decided to cancel the 2019 show and start the new schedule in 2020.
Nikon dropped a couple of very troubling bombshells today. The first was a "Recognition of Extraordinary Loss" due to company-wide restructuring; the second was the cancellation of the much-delayed series of Nikon DL compact cameras announced in February of 2016.
When the Lily camera drone was announced back in May 2015, the world was so excited by the idea of an easy-to-use throw-and-shoot drone that the company raised $15 million in private funding and saw over $34 million in pre-orders. But now it seems that the project won't ever be taking off: the company just announced that it will be shutting down.