Hasta La Ideas

Clerkenwell Design Week, London Design Fair and the London Design Biennial have all cancelled their 2020 events as coronavirus impacts design shows due to take place in the second half of the year.

The three major design events that were all due to take place in London this summer have all postponed their shows until 2021.

Clerkenwell Design Week (CDW), which was originally scheduled for 19-21 May, but had been postponed until 14-16 July, will now happen 25-27 May 2021.

London Design Biennial, which was scheduled for 8-27 September, will take place in June 2021. Rescheduled dates for London Design Fair, which was due to take place 17-20 September, have yet to be announced.

Safety is “number one priority”

Each of the events was cancelled to maintain the safety those expected to participate due to the continuing impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the organisers.

“This has not been a decision taken lightly, though above all else, the health and safety of CDW’s visitors, exhibitors, clients and staff remains the number one priority in light of these unprecedented times,” explained Jedd Barry, marketing manager for CDW.

“CDW want to ensure the festival can be delivered safely and with everyone’s best interests at the core of their approach.”

By cancelling this year’s event, Clerkenwell Design Week hopes to end any uncertainty about its future.

“Postponing to next year secures the future of the UK’s leading independent design festival, allowing time for the design industry and its community to come together and deliver an even better festival in 2021,” continued Barry.

Cancellations due to “current international travel restrictions”

The international nature of the events was also cited as a reason for the cancellations, with widespread travel bans in place in many countries across Europe preventing exhibitors and visitors being able to participate.

“The decision is as a result of the widespread disruption caused by the coronavirus epidemic,” said a statement on the London Design Fair website.

“Nearly 70 per cent of exhibitors at the event come from abroad, and most of these have understandably asked us to cancel their participation for 2020.”

This sentiment was echoed by the organisers of the London Design Biennale.

“The countries, cities and territories in our international network are core to our mission. Keeping our visitors and designers safe remains our priority and given the current international travel restrictions and potential quarantine requirements, we are postponing the 2020 Biennale exhibition to 2021,” said a statement from the biennale.

London Design Fair is one of the major elements of the London Design Festival, which is scheduled to take place 12-20 September. At present this event has not been cancelled. A representative of the organisers confirmed to Dezeen that this event is still due to take place.

A statement on its website reads: “We are exploring new ideas to inspire and inform our audiences, whilst keeping them safe, and are working virtually with our partners across the city to stage a great celebration of forward-thinking design.”

The coronavirus has impacted numerous architecture and design events around the world, with both Salone del Mobile dezeen and the Venice Architecture Biennale among the events that have postponed until 2021.

Keep up to date with all the coronavirus cancelations and postponements on the Dezeen events guide dedicated page.

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