The FESPA Africa exhibition to be hosted alongside Sign Africa from 9-11 September 2020 at Gallagher Convention Centre in South Africa will be cancelled. This decision was taken due to the current pandemic, restrictions on international travel, and the event industry being closed at the moment in South Africa with no clear indication if it will reopen before the planned dates.

"The planning for these events involves a significant amount of time for both organisers and exhibitors, who in some cases import equipment to showcase and have representatives from their manufacturers on their stand," said event organiser Dyelan Copeland.

The decision has been made to cancel this year's expo and reschedule a new date in 2021 to ensure the event will have the required planning from all sides to make it a success. Copeland added that, "The number of online registrations we have had for 2020 indicate that the industry is looking forward to the next event."

FESPA CEO Neil Felton concluded: "The dynamic development of the coronavirus pandemic globally has unfortunately made it infeasible to proceed with FESPA Africa as planned this autumn, and our focus is on the wellbeing of our visitors, exhibitors and colleagues in South Africa. We look forward to welcoming our African community back in 2021, and hope that next year's event will play an important role in their sustained business recovery from the impact of COVID-19."

The postponement of FESPA Africa follows the announcement that the next FESPA Global Print Expo will now take place at the RAI Exhibition Centre in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from 9-12 March 2021.