Koelnmesse has confirmed that as of now gamescom is currently being planned and will be going ahead unless the situation around coronavirus and public notices change. Gamescom takes place in Cologne, Germany and the city recently banned all events with more than 1000 attendees. This ban is in place until April 10th and gamescom itself will not be taking place until the end of August. That is plenty of time for the situation to change for the better for now, though with events such as E3 and GDC getting cancelled as well as hosts of other events globally gamescom may suffer the same fate.
A short update on the current situation:
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/nZH3qMMVvj— gamescom (@gamescom) March 16, 2020
The statement put out by Koelnmesse reads:
Dear Community,
We are currently receiving enquiries about how a possible threat from the corona virus could affect gamescom.
We take this topic very seriously because the health of all trade fair visitors and partners is our top priority.
On 10.03.2020 the city of Cologne banned all major events with more than 1000 participants up to and including 10.04.2020 on the basis of a decree issued by the state government on the same day. Since gamescom takes place at the end of August 2020 we are currently not affected by the decree. However, we will of course follow the recommendations of the responsible authorities regarding major events, evaluate them on a daily basis and make a decision after careful consideration. The preparation for #gamescom2020 are continuing as planned according to the current status for the determined date.
Should gamescom be postponed or cancelled by Koelnmess, all ticket purchasers of the official ticket shop will be reimbursed for the already paid visitor tickets. Voucher codes lose their validity and will be made available again for new events.
We look forward to you and your participation.
At time of writing Germany has begun to close its borders and is nearing 5000 cases with 12 recorded deaths attributed to coronavirus. The current advice in the UK is makes sure to wash those hands for 20 seconds with hot water and soap or sanitiser, keep an eye on your elderly and immunocompromised relatives and friends, and if you’re showing any signs of a dry cough, temperature or flu-like symptoms to self isolate for seven days.
Source: Twitter
