Following the cancellation of Toy Fair New York, there was more disappointing news for the international toy sector today with the announcement that the 72nd Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany, will not be taking place.
After weeks of speculation, organisers Spielwarenmesse eG confirmed that the show, slated for 2–6 February, is officially cancelled. As an alternative, exhibitors, specialist retailers and media representatives can meet up on the Spielwarenmesse Digital platform.
“We have fought hard to be able to hold the live event and we received strong support initially from toy markets worldwide,” said Christian Ulrich, Spokesperson of the Executive Board at Spielwarenmesse eG. “A large number of suppliers without international distribution networks appealed to the organisers even in December to continue with the fair, which is so important to international business.
“In the last few days, conditions have been deteriorating and, due to the rapid growth of the Omicron variant, the situation with the pandemic is now markedly different. In response to this a large number of Spielwarenmesse exhibitors, out of concern for the health of their teams, cancelled their stands. The Spielwarenmesse thus no longer looked capable of providing its customary broad overview of the international toy market. A further complication was that it was no longer possible to plan ahead with any certainty because it was possible at any time that the event could be cancelled by the authorities.
“We regret having to make this decision and are grateful to everyone who remained committed to a physical trade fair to the very end,” concluded Ulrich.
A multifunctional platform is available both for exhibitors and for visitors: thanks to Spielwarenmesse Digital, they will still have networking opportunities and the facility to discover the latest trends, within the original timetable of the trade fair.
