Last week it was announced that the Four Oaks Trade Show for 2020, the 50th anniversary event, has been postponed due to the Coronavirus crisis.
Pat Coutts, Event Director, said: "It is with great regret that Four Oaks has taken the decision to cancel the 2020 Trade show on September 8 -9th, particularly as it would have been the 50th anniversary of the show.
"The risks to exhibitors and visitors would have been too great under the present circumstances, even with the most stringent controls. The deciding factor has been the 14 day quarantine period at UK airports. As 35% of exhibitors plus a high percentage of visitors come in from Europe, the event would not have been viable with this restriction in place and we could not have delivered the quality show that the industry has come to expect.
"Having spoken to a cross section of the 260 companies booked in to the show, the general feeling has been one of relief as many have staff furloughed until October. The 3 weekly government reviews do not guarantee a way forward so the decision had to be taken now for the sake of our loyal exhibitors who invest so much in the show.
"The dates of Four Oaks 2021 will be September 7-8th when we will be able to celebrate properly the 50th event."