The growing list of world events canceled due to coronavirus
Mobile World Congress Mobile World Congress (MWC), the world’s biggest mobile phone trade show, was set to take place in Barcelona between Feb. 24 and 27. The high-profile annual event attracts some of the world’s most prominent tech and telecommunications companies. Earlier this month, organizers announced it would be canceled because of Covid-19.
Facebook’s Global Marketing Summit Facebook canceled its global marketing summit, scheduled to begin March 9 in San Francisco. The company said the decision was made in “an abundance of caution.”
Milan Furniture Fair Milan’s Salone del Mobile, the largest furniture fair in the world, was slated to take place between April 21 and 26. Organizers announced it’s been postponed until June due to fears about a coronavirus outbreak in Italy.
Global fashion weeks Fashion weeks in Beijing and Shanghai, both set to take place at the end of March, were postponed due to coronavirus. Meanwhile, numerous Chinese fashion brands have pulled out of fashion weeks in Paris and Milan.
The Dalai Lama’s engagements The Buddhist spiritual leader announced he would postpone an ordination ceremony for new monks and cancel all his public duties until further notice.
Chinese Grand Prix The Chinese Grand Prix, set to take place from April 17 to 19 has been postponed because of coronavirus. It’s the opening race of the Formula One season, and three other races—in Australia, Bahrain, and Vietnam—could also be postponed.
Six Nations Rugby match Philip Browne, chief executive of the Irish Rugby Football Union, postponed two Six Nations rugby matches between Ireland and Italy set to take place in Dublin between March 6 and 8.
Stormzy’s Asia tour British rapper Stormzy postponed concerts in Japan, China, and South Korea as part of his world tour.
European carnivals The mayor of Nice, a city in southern France, canceled the last day of carnival because of coronavirus. Venice, Italy, too, canceled its carnival, one of the most popular in the world. Authorities said there were three confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Venice.
China’s National People’s Congress China announced earlier this week it would postpone its key annual gathering of lawmakers, scheduled to take place in March. It is the first time in decades that the country has been forced to delay the meeting.
Religious pilgrimages in Saudi Arabia The Saudi government announced it is temporarily banning foreign pilgrims from entering the country, which is home to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Facebook’s developers conference The tech giant canceled its annual F8 developers conference, which was scheduled to take place on May 5 and 6 in California. It said it would retain some online elements of the conference and host local events instead.
BTS concerts in South Korea The Korean boy band canceled four concerts set to take place in Seoul between April 11 and 19 as part of a worldwide tour.