The World Economic Forum has pushed back its Annual Meeting 2021 in Davos because of Covid-19.
The high-profile gathering, originally scheduled for January in the Alpine ski resort, will now be held ‘early next summer’ or when the Forum can ‘guarantee the health and safety of our participants and the host community’.
Adrian Monck, Managing Director, Public Engagement, said: “The decision was not taken easily, since the need for global leaders to come together to design a common recovery path and shape the
‘Great Reset’ in the post-COVID-19 era is so urgent. However, the advice from experts is that the Forum cannot do so safely in January.”
The Forum is planning to hold a series of digital “Davos Dialogues” in January where leaders will share their views on the state of the world in 2021.
Since February, almost 1,800 organizations from business, government and civil society have joined the Forum’s COVID Action Platform following the outbreak of the pandemic. In September, the Forum's Sustainable Development Impact Summit will bring the core principles of the Great Reset into focus, asking all of us how we can contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive future.
The postponement is a further blow to the business events sector, which has been knocked sideways by the coronavirus pandemic. In the latest Pulse survey from Northstar Meetings Group, more than half of the 1,600 meeting planners (56 percent) are now eyeing the first half of 2021 as the earliest time frame for rescheduled meetings, while 17 percent are pushing dates into the latter half of 2021 or beyond, while cancelling or rescheduling has become the primary job function of 60 percent of respondents.
Written By
James Lancaster
AMI editor James
Lancaster is a familiar face in the meetings industry and international
association community. Since joining AMI in 2010, he has gained a reputation
for asking difficult questions and getting lost in convention centres. Proofer, podcaster, and panellist - in his spare time, James likes to walk,
read, listen to music, and drink beer.
