Nikon, Leica and Olympus will not attend the 2020 Photokina trade show in Germany, the show’s organisers have revealed.
Photokina made the announcement in an email sent out to subscribers, which states:
“Already with the last photokina, important new exhibitors could be won with this conceptual adjustment. The share of younger visitors has also increased consistently over the last two events. The attention for photokina remains great, as does the sense of anticipation for photokina 2020 of many visitors and exhibitors.
“‘We look forward to strong demand and applications from both the new and the classic segments of companies like Canon, CEWE, GoPro, Sony, Panasonic, Kodak Alaris, Sigma, Tamron, Carl Zeiss, Hasselblad, Hahnemühle, Arri, Rode Mikrophones, DJI and Insta360,’ says Christoph Werner, Vice President of Koelnmesse. These are contrasted by cancellations, including from Leica, Nikon and Olympus.
“This new situation changes nothing for the event planning for photokina 2020, which is already proceeding at full speed. Concrete discussions are taking place concerning a new experience area for photography, the acquisition of outstanding speakers for the stages is well underway, and specific concepts for start-ups, traders and professionals are being worked on.
“Christoph Werner is certain of also being able to present visitors with a fantastic trade fair experience in 2020: ‘We of course regret these cancellations, but they change nothing for the overall experience of photokina. The unique mixture of product presentation, networking, experience and continuing training have been making photokina a very special international event for many decades.'”
The 2020 show follows a fallow year in 2019. Back in 2018 the show’s organisers announced that Photokina would cease to be held biannually and would become an annual event in May of each year.
However, organisers later announced that the annual schedule would begin in 2020, pushed back from its originally proposed May 2019 slot.