Due to the wide spread of Coronavirus in Europe, most if not all of the big European cannabis events are going to be cancelled soon, but the organizers don’t even know it, yet. However, looking at the situation, we can safely say that they won’t be happening.
As the Coronavirus has arrived everywhere, we will see mass cancellation of events all over the globe. As a result, not only European Cannabis Events are going to be cancelled, but also US ones. Expect to hear alot about this soon. Everywhere.
Coronavirus Latest updates:
- Cannatech has been cancelled!
- ICBC Berlin has been cancelled. ICBC Barcelona still happening next week.
- Spannabis is cancelled.
In an announcement that shocked the entire nation, the Israeli ministry of health just issued a warning that citizens should not leave the country and avoid unnecessary travel for the time being. In addition it advised against participating in big business and religius condferences and recomended not to allow such events happening in Israel.
By taking this stand, the Israeli ministry of health voted for isolating Israel from the rest of the world to prevent, as much as possible, the fast spread of the Coronavirus. In addition it has added Italy to the list of coronavirus-infected countries that Israelis coming from it must remain 14 days in self-quarantee and that visitors from that country are not allowed to enter the country. I believe that many European countires will soon follow suit.
Keep yourself informed:
Subcribe to the CBD Business Weekly newsletter!
Whether you trust the media or not, whether you’re worried about the severity of the virus itself or not, the bottom line is that coronavirus is affecting businesses, and the cannabis industry is not left untouched. As a result, we can predict that most, if not all of the big European cannabis business events are going to be cancelled within the following week or two, and that similar events in the US and Canada are going to dramatically limited and in the absence of international traveler, become local. This is why:
Why the European cannabis events must be cancelled
Cannabis industry events, by nature, include a lot of close interaction, which is something people are trying to avoid now. As Europe is becoming more and more infected by Coronavirus, many governments will follow the Israeli example and prevent such events from happening. In addition, countries will begin to send travelers from infected countries back to where they came from, or, place them in quarantee for a minimum of 14 days.
A new wave of refugees coming from Syria
The grave news coming from Italy, South Korea and especially from Iran, where coronavirus is now completely out of control, must trigger an alarm to all of us. In addition, the predicted wave of refugees coming from Syria (some may be infected with coronavirus, thanks to Iran’s presence in Syria), will force the European governments to take the path of self-isolation and limit the number of international travelers coming in. It will happen within days. Any hesitation to do so, will result in a faster spread of the disease as we can witness happening now.
Overall, it’s expected that most, if not all of the international events, including cannabis events will either be canceled or severely limited in terms of attendance and networking opportunities. And yes, that includes the Olympics and the Euro2020 game. These two also have already been cancelled, the same with the famous Eurovision song contests. Someone need to tell it to the organizers, as they didn’t even realized it yet. They will do, within the next week or two.
The dilemma of the event organizers
While all of the big events we have approched to confiremed that for now business is as usuall, some mentioned that they are waiting for instructions from the local authoroty. As cancelling an event will result in a big lose, they will most likely wait that the local authoroty declare a state of emergency, which allow them to get insuarance money.
So, what does it means for you?
If you have planned to go to an international big cannabis, CBD or hemp event, recosider the risk and check for updates. Your first act should be to check the cancellation policy, just in case…
If you must attend it, or need to fly anywhere, make sure to apoint someone to replace you since it might take you some time to return home. Generally speaking, as any human interaction comes with a price thesedays, you should think twice before going to any big event where you can return home with a big pile of businesscards and one small deadly virus…
Keep yourself informed:
Subcribe to the CBD Business Weekly newsletter!
For more article such as this one, subscribe to the CBD Business Weekly newsletter!
If you represent a big cannabis event, both in Europe or elsewhere, please add a comment below, with the current status of the event.
Looking to source the best CBD flowers for your shop? Subscribe to the CBD Flowers Business newsletter, below:
Update: The chances of Coronavirus to become a global pandemic has been doubled to 40% in the last few days. Source.
Update: France is struggling to keep the virus under control, as the numbers of infected people rise, fast.
Update: Switzerland bans gatherings of more than 1,000 people.
Update: After Turkey has opened the road for immigration to Europe, thousands of immigrants are trying to enter Greece and Bulgary.
Dear Ofer, we confirm, that Business Cannabis France, the 4th and 5th of May in Paris will take place. https://www.manetch.com/events/cb20f
Thanks. By the way, have you discussed it with the local authorothies? They have already madde a law against gatherings of over 5000 people and we believe that in the next 72 hours, the laws will become nuch more strict. Just look on Switzerland, that bans any gathering of more than 1000 people.