Watches & Wonders Geneva is the former Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) that takes place every year in the Swiss city. (Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi)
The organisers of Watches & Wonders Geneva – the former Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) – have cancelled their annual watch fair due to take place from April 25-29, amid fears over the new coronavirus outbreak.
The organisers said in a statementexternal link published on Thursday that they had cancelled the upcoming event in the Swiss city “to protect the health and wellbeing of all our guests, press, partners and teams”.
“In view of the latest developments concerning the worldwide spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, it is the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie’s duty, as organizer of Watches & Wonders Geneva, to anticipate the potential risks that travels and important international gatherings could entail,” it said.
Watches & Wonders Geneva brings together some 30 watch brands, including those of the multinational Richemont as well as other independent watchmakers.
This is the latest Swiss watch event to be cancelled after the Swatch Group called off its “Time to Move” watch fair in Zurich, due to take place from February 28 to March 2, because of coronavirus fears. There is no news about whether the upcoming Baselworld watch fair will take place (April 30 to May 6).
On Wednesday, the Geneva International Motor Show, which attracts around 500,000 people every year, issued a statement saying it would be going ahead as scheduled from March 5-15. This followed an evaluation of the situation with the cantonal health authorities, it said in a statement.
On February 17, the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions, which was due to take place at the end of March, announced that it had been postponed by six months due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The new coronavirus has infected about 80,000 people worldwide and killed more than 2,700, the vast majority in China. Switzerland has one confirmed case, a pensioner from the southern canton of Ticino, who is in isolation in a clinic in Lugano and is reported to be doing well.
The Federal Office of Public Health said there were currently 70 suspected cases in Switzerland being tested, spread throughout the country – including several in cantons Bern and Basel but only a small number in canton Ticino.
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