bauma CONEXPO AFRICA Cancelled

The decision was made after in-depth consultations with industry stakeholders and comes amid ongoing bans and restrictions on international travel to and from South Africa.

Suzette Scheepers, CEO of Messe Muenchen South Africa, said: “Due to the challenges the industry is facing, and uncertainty in the market around the Covid-19 pandemic and associated travel restrictions, the bauma CONEXPO AFRICA advisory board concluded that we could not guarantee the international stature and the usual return on investment of this show in 2021.”

bauma CONEXPO AFRICA traditionally attracts exhibitors from around the world and thousands of delegates from Africa, providing a unique platform for international knowledge sharing and solution discovery.

Messe Muenchen Germany and industry stakeholders have expressed concern that South Africa is currently one of the most travel restricted areas in the world, with more than 120 major restrictions from other countries in place and strict post-travel quarantine rules in place. In addition, most European countries were back under strict lockdown, making it challenging for travellers to leave their countries. Many companies still have internal travel restrictions for their employees until July 2021. International exhibitors required time to move equipment for display, compounding the current challenges.

Scheepers said the difficult decision to cancel the event this year had been made after in-depth consultations with partners and industry stakeholders. “Our goal of delivering an optimal event experience to both exhibitors and visitors would have been challenged by the current uncertain situation. We thank our partners, exhibitors and the bauma CONEXPO AFRICA community for their ongoing understanding and support. We would like to assure all stakeholders of an enhanced and exceptional industry event when bauma CONEXPO AFRICA returns,” she said.

Importantly now, stakeholders agree that the industry needs to work towards economic recovery and revitalisation amid the current challenges it faces, so that we can all look forward to collaborating to make the next edition of bauma CONEXPO AFRICA a success.