All The Major Events Canceled By Coronavirus (Updated)

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Last updated 3/23/20

The coronavirus, or COVID-19, has officially been declared a pandemic. Multiple companies have canceled events around the world due to fear of travel. Here are the latest.

The Latest: 2020 Tokyo Olympics

As countries started to pull out of the Olympics, postponement started to seem more likely. Following this, International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound said the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be postponed, according to USA Today. Pound also told USA TODAY that although a new date hasn't been decided yet, it will likely be in 2021. The IOC has yet to formally announce the postponement.  

Eurovision Song Contest

For the first time in its 64-year history, the event has been canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak. 

Glastonbury Festival

What was supposed to be the 50th anniversary of the festival is no more. Due to government measures and uncertainty around the coronavirus, the event had to be canceled. The festival was originally scheduled from June 24th to June 28th, and included performances from Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Kendrick Lamar and Lana Del Ray.

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

The festival, originally held in France in the summer is postponing the event from June 22nd through 26th, to October 26th through 30th. The organizers noted that previous bookings will roll over.

Kentucky Derby

Instead of being held on the traditional first Saturday in May, the race will take place on September 5th instead.

Democratic Primary Elections

The following states have postponed their elections

• Ohio
• Maryland
• Georgia
• Louisiana
• Kentucky

Met Gala

The iconic fashion gathering will not take place as originally planned on May 4th. It has been postponed to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. 

New York International Auto Show

The show has been rescheduled to August 2020.

NASCAR

NASCAR postponed all events through May 3rd. The company still intends to hold all 36 races in the season and future rescheduling will be announced at a later date.

Boston Marathon

The marathon, originally scheduled for April 20, is postponed until Sept. 14.

Disney Parks

Walt Disney's DIS many parks and resorts around the world are closed due to fears from the coronavirus. 

Tokyo Disney resort is closed. The Shanghai and Hong Kong resorts have been closed since Jan. 24 and 25, respectively. 

Disneyland in Anaheim, California announced it will shut down for the rest of March. Disney World in Orlando, Florida is also closed.

Broadway

Broadway shows are canceled as the governor of New York,  Andrew Cuomo, announced gatherings of 500 or more people are not permitted. 

Tribeca Film Festival

Founded as a way to heal from the impact of the 9/11 attacks, Tribeca Film Festival decided to postpone its 19th festival after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced events of 500 or more people are banned.

The 2020 Masters Tournament

The 2020 Masters Tournament is postponed until further notice. It follows tournaments from other sports that canceled/postponed due to fears around the coronavirus. Some companies that may be impacted by this are ViacomCBS VIAC, Callaway Golf Co ELY and Acushnet GOLF.

NCAA Cancels March Madness

The NCAA canceled its remaining winter and spring championships, including the popular 64-team men's basketball tournament.

MLB and NHL Suspends Seasons

The MLB and NHL have suspended their respective seasons over the growing fear around the coronavirus. 

AAC, SEC and Big Ten Tournaments

The popular basketball tournaments are canceled over fears of the coronavirus. 

Sandler Joins Chorus Of Entertainers To Postpone/Cancel Tours

Adam Sandler decided to postpone his March tour dates. They will offer refunds, but promised that tickets will still be honored at a later date if they are not returned.

Meanwhile, Miley Cyrus has called off a trip to Australia; Madonna shows in Paris have been canceled after French authorities banned large gatherings; Pearl Jam postponed its U.S. and Canada tour.

NBA Suspends Season

The NBA announced on March 11 that it has suspended its season until further notice after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. Donovan Mitchell also tested positive for the coronavirus.

NCAA Championship Event Attendance

Although events will go on, there will be no audience in the crowd during some upcoming NCAA events. Only essential staff and limited family attendance will be allowed from now on for some NCAA events. 

E3 2020

Arguably the biggest gaming conference in the world, E3 2020 is canceled. The three-day conference was originally scheduled to take place in early June at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Growing concerns over the coronavirus is the cause of the cancelation. It brings in thousands of people from across the globe which could accelerate the spread in the United States. Some participating companies included Activision Blizzard ATVI, Amazon AMZN, NVIDIA NVDA, Microsoft’s MSFT Xbox and Take-Two Interactive TTWO.

Chicago's St. Patrick's Day Parade

The iconic and well-attended festival St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the windy city where the Chicago River is dyed green has been postponed as a precautionary measure to help prevent the continued spread of the coronavirus. It was originally supposed to take place on March 14th.

Coachella

The music and arts festival was expected to draw over 250,000 attendees in April, now it's been postponed until October. The postponement is from growing concerns over the coronavirus.

SXSW 2020

One of the larger festivals, South by Southwest blends interactive, film and music industries together. Notable attendees have started to pull out due to fears over the coronavirus include Twitter TWTR, Amazon, Mashable, TikTok, Intel INTC and Facebook FB. UPDATE: After multiple notable names pulled out, the festival as a whole has been canceled.

Ultra Music Festival Miami

The city of Miami canceled the popular Ultra Music Festival on coronavirus fears. The festival will not happen this year, but will instead happen next year from March 26th to 28th. The event was going to bring thousands of attendees from over 100 countries. Ticket purchasers will be contacted through email on Monday regarding the next steps to take.

TwitchCon Amsterdam

The conference was scheduled to take place in Amsterdam from May 2nd to May 3rd. It was canceled due to coronavirus concerns. The company said it is reaching out to attendees and exhibitors with information about refunds.

IBM Think 2020

The premier client and developer conference by IBM IBM will now be an online-only event. The conference will still be held between May 5th to 7th but cited mounting concerns over the coronavirus as the reason for canceling the in-person aspect of the event.

No Time To Die

The release of the upcoming James Bond movie, No Time To Die, will be postponed until November 2020 amid the coronavirus outbreak. International box office numbers are being negatively impacted by the virus as people are increasingly fearful of going to public places.

Google I/O 2020

Google GOOGGOOGL previously allowed registration cancelations until April 15th, but instead, decided to cancel the event as a whole as the coronavirus situation continues. At the conference, Google announces new products and software and attendees get a hands-on look. Although Google can still make its I/O announcements online, there might be a lack of hands-on review content.

EXPO West

A trade show which comprises of "natural, organic and healthy products" was canceled as over 200 vendors pulled out of the event over the coronavirus. Some notable names that pulled out of the event include General Mills GIS, Red Bull and Whole Foods.

Gucci's Cruise 2021 Fashion Show

The luxury Italian fashion company Gucci canceled its Cruise 2021 fashion show amid coronavirus fears. It was scheduled to take place on May 18th in San Fransisco.

Game Developers Conference

After multiple notable attendees pulled out of the conference due to coronavirus fears, the conference decided canceling the event as a whole would be best. Some of the notable names include Facebook, Sony SNE, EA EA, Epic Games and Microsoft. It’s important to note some companies, such as Amazon, announced alternative measures to make up for their lack of announcements.

Intel Labs Day

Chipmaker Intel decided it was best to cancel its San Francisco Labs Day conference showcasing emerging tech citing “ongoing and evolving coronavirus situation.”

Zendesk

Zendesk ZEN canceled its Zendesk Relate conference that was scheduled for March 3rd-5th in Miami.

Domo

Domo DOMO announced its Domopalooza conference will now be an online-only event. Domopalooza was originally scheduled to take place in Utah from March 17th to the 20th.

Shopify

Shopify SHOP Unite, a partner and developer conference, was canceled. It was scheduled to take place in Toronto from May 6th to 8th.

Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS)

The 90th Geneva International Motor Show has been canceled. It was set to begin next week. The Swiss government has banned all "public and private" events with more than 1,000 people. In a statement, GIMS/Palexpo SA said "The 90th edition of the GIMS, which was supposed to welcome the media from next Monday and the general public from 5 to 15 March 2020, will now finally not take place. This is an injonction decision of the Federal Council of 28 February 2020 that no events with more than 1,000 people are allowed to take place until 15 March 2020. The decision falls 3 days before the opening of the exhibition to the media." 

Some companies that were set to exhibit at GIMS were:
Audi AUDVF

Volkswagen VWAPY

Hyundai HYMTF

BMW BMWYY

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles FCAU

Honda Motor Co. HMC

Mazda Motor Corp MZDAY

Daimler AG DMLRY

Renault RNLSY

Toyota Motor Corp TM

ITB Berlin

One of the world’s largest travel trade shows, ITB Berlin was set to take place on March 4th through March 8th. 

“ITB Berlin 2020 will not take place. Due to the increasing spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Economics have decided to cancel ITB Berlin. The responsible health authority of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf of Berlin has increased the requirements for the event to take place early this evening (18:27). Among other things, the authority orders Every trade fair participant must prove to Messe Berlin that they do not come from the defined risk areas or have had contact with a person from the risk areas. Messe Berlin is unable to implement all these requirements.”

Facebook

Facebook canceled its annual F8 developer conference due to fears over the coronavirus. The event was originally scheduled for May 5th and 6th, but instead, the company will host local events and live stream some content in an effort to make up for the in-person component of the conference.

Before the cancellation of its F8 conference, Facebook also canceled its Global Marketing Summit citing health concerns due to the recent outbreak. The event was scheduled to take place March 9th through 12th.

MWC

One of the biggest tech events of the year, MWC (formerly known as Mobile World Congress), was canceled over growing concerns around the coronavirus. Hosted in Barcelona, the event gathers exhibitors and press from all over the world, with a lot coming from China.

The event attracts roughly 100,000 attendees, making it one of the highest-profile events canceled over the coronavirus. Some notable attendees included Amazon, Intel, Facebook and Sony.

Global Fashion Weeks

Beijing and Shanghai’s fashion weeks, set to take place at the end of March, have both been postponed. This makes sense, as most coronavirus cases are China, but Chinese fashion brands have also pulled out of the more notable fashion weeks which take place in Paris and Milan.

Workday

The SaaS provider canceled a sales conference that was set to take place in Orlando next week. The event was scheduled to have roughly 3,000 attendees.

Here Are Some Events The Coronavirus Might Impact

Optical Fiber Communications Conference

NeoPhotonics announced it is withdrawing from the conference which is set to take place from March 8th to 12th in San Diego. The conference is for optical communication and networking companies. 

Announcements from former MWC attendees

Companies commonly use this event as a medium to announce new products and concepts.

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Photo by Serhat Beyazkaya on Unsplash