Coronavirus illustration by CDC via AP
COVID-19, or coronavirus, has been labeled a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organization, resulting in many coffee events rescheduling in response:
- London Coffee Festival is postponed until July 23 to July 26 at the Truman Brewery.
- World of Coffee 2020 in Warsaw, Poland, will now be October 15 to October 17.
- Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) will be held November 3 to November 6 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. It will also feature the 2020 World Barista Championship and World Brewers Cup.
- The Amsterdam Coffee Festival, originally set for March 13 to March 15, is postponed, with dates to be determined.
- The Northwest Food Show has moved from April 19 & 20 to August 2 & 3 at the Portland Expo Center.
- World Tea Expo, which was set to take place in Denver, Colorado, June 8-10, is now postponed to October 15-18.
There has been much discussion surrounding the Specialty Coffee Expo and its affiliated events (Re:co Symposium and the U.S. Coffee Championships), set to happen in Portland, Oregon, in late April. On March 16, SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos posted an update on YouTube.
“While the federal government is saying that for the next two months there should be no big event, from the state of Oregon we heard today that they are banning those big events until April 14,” he says in the video. “For us, this is critical, because we are trying with our partners to disengage from contractual obligations we all have to each other and we are trying to do that based on the guidance and the directives we get from the Oregon state. I want to reassure you that we at the SCA will do and will make the right calls to protect your health and safety. At the moment, I would like to ask your support and your patience to allow us time to properly disengage from those contractual obligations as this is something that is putting a lot of pressure on the SCA if we unilaterally make that call. Thank you for your support and I hope that you understand that we are trying to work towards the best solution.”
Visit the Specialty Coffee Association’s website for continuous updates.
