The CPhI WorldWide 2020, which was to be held this year in Milan, Italy, is the latest among a huge number of fairs this year to bite the dust. It has been, like many others before it, been postponed to next year, further details being still awaited.

As per a short message on its official site, after discussions and consultations with all stake holders it was decided to postpone the physical event to next year, with a digital version being planned this year, where the buyers and the sellers will be able to meet virtually on a digital platform. This really has been the case with a host of fairs this year. With travel and flight restrictions still very much in place, and the pandemic still far from from being over and behind us, physical events are going to be scary affairs, with low attendance and huge costs. Digital is the way to go this year. Personally, I doubt that the digital version of a fair will be a success in the long run, but given the current situation, that really is the only way out.

What has made matters worse for all those involved is the degree of uncertainty that is prevailing. Fairs are being cancelled at the last moment, and at very short notice at times. Keeping in mind that preparations begin months before the actual event, this series of cancellations and postponements, and the indecision, is raising the costs of participating in fairs. Maybe, just maybe, digital is indeed the way forward.