Next year's Geneva Motor Show is canceled too
The show itself has also been sold.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the 2021 Geneva Motor Show, originally scheduled for March 4th through 14th, 2021, has been canceled due to coronavirus concerns. The decision was made after a majority of exhibitors said they probably wouldn’t participate in a 2021 show, according to a statement from the event’s organizers. The 2020 Geneva Motor Show was also canceled after the Swiss government banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people.
The Geneva International Motor Show is one of the largest car shows in the world, usually attracting 600,000 people and 10,000 journalists, according to the statement. The show’s cancellation dealt a huge blow both to the show itself and to the city of Geneva. GIMS is estimated to have an economic impact of more than 200 million Swiss francs per year, according to the statement.
The city government offered a loan of 16.8 million Swiss francs to the Committee and Council of the Foundation “Salon International de l’Automobile,” which organizes GIMS. However, the foundation rejected the loan, since its terms would require a 2021 GIMS to be held. Instead, the foundation sold the show to Palexpo SA, the company that owns the convention center where GIMS takes place.
While GIMS 2021 has been canceled, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, which draws more than 175,000 attendees, is still scheduled for January 2021. The fate of other major events in 2021 remains to be seen.
