The annual Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show has been cancelled. Event organizers announced the cancellation via press release, citing concerns that event facilities and services would be unavailable as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While both event organizers and industry members have been working tireless to deliver an outstanding SEMA Show in November, mounting uncertainty has rendered continuing with the event inadvisable,” organizers state in a press release. “SEMA expects the decision will bring much needed clarity to an uncertain picture and will help exhibitors, attendees and partners plan accordingly.”
SEMA Show exhibitor booth deposits and attendee registration fees will be refunded in full.
Although this year’s in-person SEMA Show event has been canceled, event organizers indicated that a virtual alternative was under consideration, with an online trade show and “related live elements” floated as possible substitutes.
“We appreciate the spirit, hard work and innovation our industry puts into the SEMA Show each year,” said SEMA president and CEO, Chris Kersting. “While we are disappointed circumstances prevent us from hosting the Show in November, we look forward to getting everyone together in 2021 for another outstanding event.”
Last month, event organizers announced that the event would go forward with various safety measures in place to keep attendees safe, including mandatory face marks, social distancing measures, and hand sanitizing stations. The event was originally slated to take place between November 3rd and November 6th.
Now, however, per the new official announcement, the 2020 SEMA Show has been canceled outright.
The 2020 SEMA Show is just the latest example in a long line of event cancellations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual Woodward Dream Cruise is another recent example, with event organizers announcing in June that the event was canceled for 2020.
The debut of the all-new Cadillac Lyriq EV crossover is yet another example. Originally slated to debut in April, the Lyriq reveal was then rescheduled to August 6th, 2020, as an online-only affair.
We’ll keep our ear to the ground to see if the 2020 SEMA Show goes online as well. In the meantime, subscribe to GM Authority for more GM-related COVID-19 news, SEMA news and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
They didn’t try thinking out of the box, just as you can have baseball games without an audience; it could have been just as entertaining if SEMA had a collection of product introduction and over specialty vehicles; every company with a new product could come out with a video.
The reality is Las Vegas has been decimated by this virus. Record unemployment has to have greatly affected the Las Vegas convention center to the point no one really knows what workforce might be available and when?? Damn shame.