Health and safety concerns over the Coronavirus pandemic have affected two more major beverage alcohol industry events. The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America announced on March 12 that it was cancelling the WSWA 77th Annual Convention & Exposition, which had been scheduled for April 20-23 in Las Vegas. WSWA will hold its next annual conference and expo April 6-9, 2021 Grande Lakes Orlando, Florida.
The WSWA said in a statement that “it became clear that keeping our community safe and healthy went beyond any additional hygiene measures we could put in place.” The European travel ban and limited domestic travel also factored into the decision to cancel the event.
Meanwhile, the Nightclub & Bar Show, scheduled to take place March 30-April 1, has been postponed until June. The event will now be held June 22-24 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. American Beverage Licensees has indefinitely postponed the 2020 ABL annual meeting, which was to be held in New Orleans on March 29-30. And the American Craft Spirits Association has postponed the 7th Annual Distillers’ Convention and Vendor Trade Show that was to take place March 29-31 in Portland, OR.