ProWein, the world's largest wine & spirits trade fair, has been postponed from March until May due to spread of the Covid-19 variant Omicron.
The postponement by the most influential wine & spirits trade fair has sparked a furious reaction from the London Wine Fair, whose event it now clashes with in May.
"In view of the currently very dynamic infection patterns and the rapid spread of the Omicron variant the event originally planned for the period from 27 to 29 March 2022 can no longer be kept," Messe Düsseldorf said in a release.
“ProWein goes city”, a joint initiative of the trade association Destination Düsseldorf and Messe Düsseldorf, will also be postponed until may.
ProWein is normally held in March each year in the German city of Düsseldorf, with tens of thousands attending. However it was not held in 2020 or 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr. Stephan Keller, Lord Mayor of the state capital Düsseldorf and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Messe Düsseldorf, said the event, which attracts people from all over the world, needs to be as safe and successful as possible.
"The current worsening of the pandemic situation does not allow for sufficient planning certainty. Shifting the trade fairs to early summer therefore makes the most sense for all concerned. Based on the experience of the past two pandemic years and the assessment of virologists, we then assume a significantly improved situation in which the trade fairs can develop their positive effect much more strongly."
ProWein was expected to be postponed but the new date had not been confirmed. Not everyone is happy with the new timing however, notably London Wine Fair whose dates are now a direct clash with ProWein.
“This is an extremely aggressive move by ProWein; a direct attack on both the London Wine Fair and the UK drinks market," London Wine Fair event director Hannah Tovey said. "The Fair has been a firm fixture in the wine trade’s diary for more than 40 years, and this move will be extremely disruptive for our industry."
The London Wine Fair will take place as a live event at Olympia from 16-18 May, and online from 9-10 May. The Fair opted for a hybrid model this year as event organisers in Europe struggle with record Covid-19 case numbers in many European countries.
Vinexpo Paris has confirmed its event would go ahead from 14-16 February 2022 despite burgeoning infection rates in France.
