There is a lot of uncertainty about rescheduling trade shows

ZUNDERT, Netherlands; Organisers of GrootGroenPlus (GGP), the world’s premier amenity plant show, announce that preparations continue ahead of its planned date of 30 September-2 October, explaining that the official event ban in the Netherlands will begin to end on 31 August. However, the COVID-19 outbreak-related measures, guidelines, and possibilities from the Dutch government after 31 August remain unclear and as such GGP is not 100 per cent sure if the trade fair in Zundert can take place on those dates.

Many horticultural trade shows still hang in the balance for September. For GGP 1 June looks to be the date for the final decision. “If it turns out after 1 June that the trade fair cannot take place due to COVID-19, we will not wait for a later date, but postpone until 6 – 8 October 2021. We can keep reservations for 2021, and of course, exhibitors will not receive an invoice for 2020. All sent invoices will be credited or – if clients wish – applied to the reservation for 2021,” GGP organisers say.

The Netherlands’ neighbour, Germany has a similar event ban that will last until 31 August. The nation’s most significant horticultural event in September is spoga+gafa, a leading garden and outdoor living trade show. Organiser Messe Koln confirms that preparations for spoga+gafa continue ahead of its planned date of 6-8 September 2020 in Cologne, Germany.

Their official statement reads, “Several exhibitors and visitors are understandably reacting with uncertainty to the cancellation of end customer-oriented or very highly-frequented events. For example, we received numerous enquiries after the 2020 Munich Beer Festival unfortunately had to be cancelled. As a trade fair with a B2B orientation and its expected density of visitors, spoga+gafa fundamentally distinguishes itself from sports events and folk festivals or often from other B2B and B2C trade fairs. spoga+gafa is awaiting around 40,000 fully registered admissions in September, which will be spread over three days and the 230,000 square metres of the entire grounds of Koelnmesse. This is the clear difference to many of the cancelled events and enables us for instance to ensure the desired minimum distance. We will communicate this publicly and to the political circles.”

Another major trade show, Poland’s Green is Life, from 3-5 September, changed its format to B2B during the coronavirus crisis. Under normal circumstances the last day of this show was  open to the public.

In Russia, preparations for FlowersExpo at Moscow’s Crocus Expo continue ahead of its planned date of 8-10 September.

Set to take place on the same date is France’s Salon du Végétal, which this year returns to their ‘trusted’ venue, the Parc des Expositions in Angers.

In Italy, Flormart decided to postpone to September 2021, announcing a virtual event for 1 December: Flormart City Forum 

Event organiser V Group SRL has announced new dates for its 2020 international trade show and top-notch educational programme. The 6^th edition annual MyPlant&Garden will now take place 21-23 September, 2020.