In light of the recent developments with the COVID-19 pandemic—including restrictions placed on international travel and public gatherings—we have decided to cancel Indie Beauty Expo and Uplink Live Berlin 2020, which was scheduled to take place March 25-26, 2020.
In this note, we will explain the circumstances and rationale that led us to cancel the IBE + Uplink Live event.
Rationale:
- We have been monitoring the COVID-19 situation since late January.
- In February, we examined postponing IBE Berlin to June—the only open month in our show schedule in the first half of the year. Ultimately, we were not able to postpone IBE Berlin for two reasons: First, our venue had no availability in June and, second, the vast majority of our Berlin exhibitors expressed a preference to keep the event on its scheduled date.
- Since then, as COVID-19 spread, new restrictions were placed on events, and we closely monitored all of them to ensure compliance. The size and nature of IBE Berlin enabled us to comply with all new guidelines and requirements placed by German and Berlin Health authorities governing events, and we continued to plan to hold IBE Berlin on the scheduled date.
- All that changed on March 11, 2020 when the Trump Administration announced new travel restrictions between the US and Europe. This has created massive new uncertainty—especially for US-based exhibitors and IBMG staff who need to travel to Berlin. As a result of this new risk and with no clear guidance on when restrictions would be eased, we were forced to make the very difficult decision to cancel IBE + Uplink Live Berlin.
This decision was not made lightly and done so after exhausting every other possible option.
In closing, we want you to know how much we appreciate your trust in our organization—it is the fuel that drives us. And we ask for your continued patience and understanding as we work through these unprecedented circumstances to continue to serve you.
Best,
Nader Naeymi-Rad and Jillian Wright
Indie Beauty Media Group Co-Founders
