Organisers of Milan’s eyewear trade show MIDO have announced this year’s event will run in an online format, with the in-person edition not to take place until early 2022.
One of Europe’s flagship optical trade events, the show was scheduled to run in-person from 5-7 June 2021, but it will shift to an online format due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and the longer-than-expected rollout of vaccines.
Since February last year – when the crisis began to take hold – MIDO organisers have attempted to set three different dates for the show. In this latest announcement, they said the next in-person show has been postponed until 12 to 14 February 2022.
“It’s now more than a year since the beginning of the pandemic in Italy and regrettably, the public health situation, not only in our country, is still critical,” MIDO president Mr Giovanni Vitaloni said.
“The infection rate is still high, and the variants and the problems related to vaccine production and distribution have caused additional difficulties. International travel is currently limited; last October we were optimistic about the coming months but the reality is proving to be very different. Trade shows, at present, are still banned.”
He said the main objective was to safeguard the international character of the event to promote the eyewear industry and create business opportunities.
Commenting on the next in-person event in February, Vitaloni stated: “MIDO 2022 will at last be an occasion for sharing the reconstruction, enthusiasm and energy which we are all striving to set in motion in order to revive one of the most important segments of our country’s economy.
“We pay close attention to the evolution of the pandemic, constantly monitoring the needs of exhibitors and visitors. Obviously, once it is possible to hold in-person events again, we will not hesitate to do so.”
For the digital MIDO event in June, Vitaloni in addition to the platform dedicated to exhibitors and buyers, it will provide the opportunity to share projects and proposals, reassess the sector, and discuss trends and new developments through high-profile figures and interactive events.
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