Yesterday early morning, we posted a story that the organisers were still pushing through with the IWA Outdoor Classics 2020,set to be held on the 6th to the 10th of March 2020 in Germany, a few days from today. With the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Europe, we were wondering if it was foolhardy for the organisers to continue with holding the event given that many public events in Europe are being cancelled after an outbreak in Italy.

Italy has the most number of cases and deaths in the continent and that countries that have been recently affected have their cases traced to Italy. With Freedom of Movement of people in the EU, people move faster across borders usually unhindered, which means the virus carriers also can move uhindered.

German authorities are concerned with the rising cases and according to DW.com, the health minister says the country is facing a "coronavirus epidemic", plus with companies pulling out of the event, it was just a matter of time for the organisers to cancel the event. In this case, they announced yesterday a postponement of the IWA Outdoor Classics 2020 later in the year (or understood as when the “all clear” sign has been given by the authorities).

Whilst it is disappointing for us in the airsoft community as the IWA Outdoor Classics provides one of the biggest gatherings and interactions between the airsoft industry and community, we understand that to help mitigate the spread of the virus, people should avoid large public gatherings. With tens of thousands visiting the trade event every year, the virus can be spread much faster and to a wider geographical reach once people go home to their countries after the event.

Here is the official statement from Nuremberg Messe regarding the postponement of the IWA Outdoor Classics and Enforce-Tac, a pre-IWA event:

27 February 2020 // NürnbergMesse

Postponement of IWA OutdoorClassics 2020 and Enforce Tac / U.T.SEC 2020

By virtue of the new situation regarding the spread of the corona virus, NürnbergMesse has decided to postpone IWA OutdoorClassics 2020 and Enforce Tac / U.T.SEC 2020: from the planned dates of 4-5 and 6-9 March 2020 to a date in 2020, which yet has to be specified.

IWA OutdoorClassics is the leading international exhibition for hunting and shooting, equipment for outdoor and for civilian and official security applications. Petra Wolf, Member of the Management Board of NürnbergMesse: "We hope that the industry will understand the decision to postpone. The aim of every exhibition has to be to create a special experience for exhibitors and visitors likewise and to enable networking and expansion of existing business relations. Unfortunately, this goal cannot be achieved under the current circumstances".

The IWA OutdoorClassics, which was planned to take place from 6 to 9 March 2020, has been postponed to a date this year that has yet to be determined in detail: "We are aware of the great importance of the IWA for our exhibitors and visitors. All the more reason for us to put high pressure on the task to find the best possible alternative date for such an important event for our customers," says Petra Wolf.

The Enforce Tac / U.T.SEC trade show, which runs before will also be postponed in line with IWA OutdoorClassics.

The postponement also means the Airsoft Meetup 2020 is postponed and dependent on the new dates that will be announced later. The awarding ceremonies for the 10th Airsoft Players’ Choice Awards which is a part of the Meetup is cancelled as well and Popular Airsoft will ship the awards to the winners instead of rather than wait for a new schedule for IWA Outdoor Classics 2020 and Airsoft Meetup 2020.

The IWA Outdoor Classics for the airsoft industry is big thing, even bigger than the SHOT Show in Las Vegas as they generate more business in this trade event that is why there are more airsoft companies exhibiting at IWA. We find the industry and community under one roof and it is also four days of fun and camaraderie. We were hoping the virus has already burned itself out before the event, but unfortunately it has spread much wider and the only way that we can do is to avoid large public events to help in stopping it.

We wait for the new dates and hopefully it takes place earlier in the year.

Top photo credit: NürnbergMesse .