Organisers of The Print Show have confirmed that the event will be postponed until 2021, due to the ongoing novel coronavirus (Covid-19) situation in the UK.
The Print Show, and new sister event The Sign Show, had been due to run from September 27th to 29th at the NEC in Birmingham, with a number of leading brands having already committed to the show.
The two events will now run from September 28th to 30th next year at the NEC.
Event director Chris Davies says that while every effort had been made to go ahead with the event, it has become clear in recent weeks that restrictions caused by Covid-19 mean that hosting the show this year would not be possible.
“Before anything else, the health and safety of our exhibitors and guests is our number one concern, and while it was a difficult decision, we believe this is the right course of action,” Davies says.
“While we hope the situation with Covid-19 will have improved by September, there is no guarantee that the event would be permitted to go ahead due to the current government restrictions.
“The government is yet to make any announcements as to when large gatherings or events can take place again, and we have to be realistic. Planning to host a large-scale event like The Print Show this year is just not feasible, given the level of uncertainty as to what situation the UK will be in come September.
“Therefore, we have decided that the best course of action would be to postpone both The Print Show and sister event The Sign Show until next year, when we hope the worst of the crisis will have subsided.”
Davies also revealed that The Print Show has reached an agreement with many of the companies that had already signed up to attend in 2020 to instead exhibit at the rearranged event next year.
“We’re finalising the details with our exhibitors and we’ll be making a number of announcements in the coming weeks and months, but it is fantastic to see this level of confidence in the show,” Davies says.
“I’ve been touched by the amount of support our exhibitors have offered and I will be delighted to welcome them to the rearranged edition of The Print Show next year.
“We remain fully committed to delivering a quality event that solely focuses on the UK printing industry. The Print Show is the only event dedicated to the UK market and as we emerge from lockdown and build for a brighter future, we believe our event will play a key role in this recovery process.”
