Messe Frankfurt cancels international home textiles fair Heimtextil

“Due to the unforeseeable dynamics in the development of the pandemic, the reciprocal and cumulative effects of the relevant factors, as well as the extreme escalation and deterioration of the pandemic situation in Germany within a very short period of time, including the decisions taken at the Conference of Minister Presidents on December 2, 2021, the date of

Heimtextil right at the beginning of the year, in the second week of January, cannot be kept,” trade fair organiser Messe Frankfurt said in the announcement.

Messe Frankfurt is working closely with all industry partners to find out whether and within what framework Heimtextil can be held parallel to Techtextil and Texprocess from June 21-24, 2022.

Heimtextil as an international trade fair has always kicked off the spring trade fair season and is the first major international trade fair in Germany directly after Christmas and New Year with exhibitors and visitors from over 135 countries.

“The exponential increase in the number of infections in a very short period of time and the accompanying multitude of developments and resolutions that are clearly outside the realm of influence of the organiser have led to a significant deterioration in the general conditions and necessary requirements for holding Heimtextil as a major trade fair of international relevance at this early stage. These developments include in particular the classification of Germany as a high-risk area and the associated travel warnings, international and intercontinental travel restrictions in India, Japan, the United States and Great Britain, as well as the quarantine obligation and “2G” (only with vaccinated and recovered status) requirements without recognition of the WHO vaccine list in Germany,” the organisers said.

“Equally important are the steadily rising infection figures and the accompanying urgent appeal, including by the Robert Koch Institute, to reduce contacts to a minimum and to cancel all major events,” the organisers added.

A large number of the exhibiting and visiting companies at Heimtextil are currently reacting to this with travel and trade fair attendance bans out of an obligation of concern towards their employees to protect them from health risks. The global willingness to travel is continuing to fall rapidly.

However, the planning and staging of the other spring trade fairs Ambiente, Christmasworld, Creativeworld and Paperworld is not affected. Due to their later dates in the year, at the end of January and mid-February respectively, these fairs are still planning to take place at the present time.

Further, compared to Heimtextil, which is the most international trade fair at the Frankfurt location, Frankfurt Fashion Week currently has a much lower international profile and from this perspective can therefore still take place. The extremely volatile situation is continuously reviewed and evaluated in close exchange with the relevant authorities and industry partners.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)