PRESSIdeas June 2020 issue

pressideas/ commercial printing
The Print Show postponed to September 2021
Show postponed due to the ongoing novel coronavirus (Covid-19) situation in the UK.
Organisers of The Print Show have confirmed
that the event will be postponed until 2021,
due to the ongoing novel coronavirus
(Covid-19) situation in the UK. The Print
Show, and new sister event The Sign Show,
had been due to run from September 27th
to 29th at the NEC in Birmingham, with a
number of leading brands having already
committed to the show. The two events will
now run from September 28th to 30th next
year at the NEC.
Event director Chris Davies says that while
every effort had been made to go ahead
with the event, it has become clear in recent
weeks that restrictions caused by Covid-19
mean that hosting the show this year would
not be possible.
“Before anything else, the health and safety
of our exhibitors and guests is our number
one concern, and while it was a difficult
decision, we believe this is the right course of
action,” Davies says.
“While we hope the situation with Covid-19
will have improved by September, there is no
guarantee that the event would be permitted
to go ahead due to the current government
restrictions.
“The government is yet to make any
announcements as to when large gatherings
or events can take place again, and we have
to be realistic. Planning to host a large-scale
event like The Print Show this year is just
not feasible, given the level of uncertainty
as to what situation the UK will be in come
September.
“Therefore, we have decided that the best
course of action would be to postpone both
The Print Show and sister event The Sign
Show until next year, when we hope the worst
of the crisis will have subsided.”
Davies also revealed that The Print Show
has reached an agreement with many of
the companies that had already signed up
to attend in 2020 to instead exhibit at the
rearranged event next year.
“We’re finalising the details with our
exhibitors and we’ll be making a number of
announcements in the coming weeks and
months, but it is fantastic to see this level of
confidence in the show,” Davies says.
“I’ve been touched by the amount of
support our exhibitors have offered and I
will be delighted to welcome them to the
rearranged edition of The Print Show next
year. We remain fully committed to delivering
a quality event that solely focuses on the UK
printing industry. The Print Show is the only
event dedicated to the UK market and as
we emerge from lockdown and build for a
brighter future, we believe our event will play
a key role in this recovery process.”
The Print Show every year directly attracts
the very biggest print and finishing
technology manufacturers from across the
UK commercial print supply chain. These
companies use the show to launch brand
new products that can be seen for the very
first time in the UK, if not the world.
Run by the same team behind key industry
titles Print Monthly and SignLink and their
parent company Link Publishing, the
creativity and drive behind The Print Show
draws on more than 50 years of collective
experience of the print industry.
12 June 2020