Hopes dashed of holding rescheduled event in May due to COVID-19 escalation in Italy and internationally.
BolognaFiere has confirmed that this year’s Bologna Children’s Book Fair and Bologna Licensing Trade Fair have both been cancelled.
The events had originally been rescheduled from their planned March date to May 4-7 due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak, however BolognaFiere made the decision yesterday (March 11) to cancel completely.
A statement read: ‘Unfortunately the spread of the Coronavirus epidemic both in Italy and internationally has dashed every hope of holding the Fair, even on the recently announced rescheduled dates of May 4-7. BolognaFiere has therefore taken the difficult decision to wait no further and act now to enable all the professional community – publishers, authors, illustrators, designers, digital content creators, agents, licensors and licensees – to rethink its plans.’
The 2021 edition of the Fair will run from April 12-15.
Antonio Bruzzone, general manager of BolognaFiere, commented: “In these days we are dealing with a genuine emergency, one that involves not only our country but, unfortunately, has an international dimension. The need to contain the spread of the Coronavirus has made it necessary to introduce strict limits on travel between countries, thus having a significant effect on all forms of business.
“The trade fair system, which is based on face-to-face meetings and networking, has had to deal with an unprecedented situation: the aim, now more than ever, is to support businesses and ensure the best circumstances for the repositioning of individual initiatives in light of this situation.
“It was not easy to take the decision to postpone the event until 2021, but we have done so in the knowledge that we are providing an important contribution to overcoming this current situation.”
The full statement from BolognaFiere can be read by clicking here.
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