In light of Cyril Ramaphosa’s address on the 14th March, travel to and from high risk countries will be banned and a number of ports of entry to the country will be closed. Also, public gatherings of 100 or more people will be prohibited and schools will close from the 18th March and only reopen after Easter.
Messe Frankfurt South Africa takes the safety of its exhibitors, sponsors, partners, speakers, and attendees very seriously. As the situation with COVID-19 is changing daily, we are closely monitoring the response by healthcare and government officials so we can ensure the protection of all our stakeholders.
Following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) declaration that the Coronavirus is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), Messe Frankfurt is taking the following steps to maintain a safe and healthy environment at our events:
- We are committed to following jurisdiction guidelines and rules in maintaining a safe environment for our attendees. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidelines and updates are located here.
- We are working closely with the venues hosting our events, to ensure there are medical processes in place and sanitation products readily available.
- We will provide timely updates to registered attendees
We have postponed one event (AllFashion Sourcing, previously known as Source Africa and ATF) to October 2020, due the high number of international attendees at this event. Our scheduled events to take place this year include:
Aero (2-4 July), SA Festival of Motoring (21-23 August), AllFashion Sourcing (13-15 October), Boatica (23-25 October) and Solar Power Africa (4-6 November). It is important to note that all the events scheduled, apart from
AFS, have a low number of international exhibitors and visitors. Based on this and, in the hope that the situation in South Africa has been contained by July, we are not planning on cancelling or postponing these events.
Should the situation change, we will not hesitate to do so, in the best interest and in the safety of all our stakeholders.
Should you be looking to exhibit at any of the above listed events but are concerned about the recent strict measures put in place, Messe Frankfurt SA would like to reassure you that we will waiver any cancellation fees and refund clients in full based on the following 1) Should exhibitors be attending from high risk countries where travel bans remain in place (This will extend to bans on imports of certain goods that the company requires in order to exhibit at these events). 2) The SA government’s ban on public gatherings of 100 people or more (or similar bans on public gatherings) remains in place by the time of the event.
Please do not hesitate to contact my office at anytime in the coming months should you require further information on the matter. We will continue to update you on any changes to the scheduling of our events.
Yours sincerely
Joshua Low
Managing Director
Messe Frankfurt South Africa (Pty) Ltd
Building 22A, The Woodlands Office Park
20 Woodlands Drive, Woodmead
Sandton, 2191, Gauteng.