Posidonia 2020 is canceled

The organizers of Posidonia, the world’s leading shipping exhibition that takes place every two years in Athens, announced on Monday the cancellation of this year’s event due to the continuing coronavirus pandemic around the globe.

“It is with a great deal of regret that we are announcing the cancellation of Posidonia 2020, originally planned for June 2020 and subsequently postponed to October 2020,” the organizers said in a statement.

“We have reached this difficult decision following close consultation with many exhibitors and with our shipping community stakeholders, after assessing the current state of Covid-19 in countries around the world. The worrying increase of cases in certain jurisdictions and the inability to predict reliably where the pandemic will take us in the months ahead, compounds the uncertainty that now prevails, imposing upon us circumstances that are beyond our control,” read the statement.

“Furthermore, the shipment of exhibits and the complexities of international travel which are constantly being re-evaluated as events develop, pose major challenges and practical restrictions to our international exhibitors and visitors, with the distinct possibility that many will not be able to visit Greece. Without them Posidonia would not be the same,” the organizers admitted.

“One of the unique characteristics of Posidonia is the opportunities it provides to meet, interact and socialize in and around the exhibition and enjoy the hospitality, energy and fun that surround our event. We are concerned that this special environment that brings together the Greek and international shipping communities is in danger of being undermined due to Covid-19, thus not delivering the results that everyone expects and is looking forward to at Posidonia,” added the statement.

“Instead, we are embarking on our preparations for the next Posidonia in June 2022 with optimism and the confidence that well before then we will have entered a world with Covid-19 under control,” it concluded.

The event was originally scheduled to take place on June 1-5 at the Metropolitan Expo center by the Athens airport. When the pandemic broke out the organizers put it off for October 26-30, but have now decided to abandon their plans for this year.