BERLIN (Reuters) – Most German trade fairs are expected to resume across the country from September as authorities continue to gradually lift coronavirus lockdown measures, an association said on Thursday.
Following an agreement between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the 16 state premiers, regional governments are responsible for making their own decisions on allowing trade fairs to be held.
The Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA) said that North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate were already allowing fairs to go ahead, while Bavaria announced it would give the go-ahead from September.
“So in Germany, trade fairs are planned again from September,” AUMA Managing Director Joern Holtmeier said.
Frankfurt’s annual book fair, the world’s largest, will take place as scheduled in mid-October, its organisers said last month, a sign of some return to normality.
However the Oktoberfest has been cancelled. The world’s largest folk festival, it had been due to take place in Munich from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4
(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Frances Kerry)
