Home / Knife Business / IWA Postponed, Spyderco Amsterdam Meet Cancelled Due to Coronavirus

IWA Postponed, Spyderco Amsterdam Meet Cancelled Due to Coronavirus

February 28, 2020

Two of the spring’s biggest knife events have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak. IWA OutdoorClassics has been postponed and the Spyderco Amsterdam Meet cancelled due to the current situation with this disease.

IWA was scheduled to take place next week in Nuremberg, Germany, with hundreds of exhibitors convening from all around the world. While not strictly speaking a knife show, IWA has always been an important event for European knife companies, and in recent years has grown exponentially in importance for makers all over the world. Spyderco, Benchmade, and Rick Hinderer Knives were among the companies scheduled to be at the show.

“We hope that the industry will understand the decision to postpone. The aim of every exhibition has to be to create a special experience for exhibitors and visitors likewise and to enable networking and expansion of existing business relations,” writes Petra Wolf of the Management Board of NürnbergMesse. “Unfortunately, this goal cannot be achieved under the current circumstances.” According to the IWA showrunners, IWA will be rescheduled for sometime later in the year – although no date has been settled on at this point.

Similarly, Spyderco’s Amsterdam Meet, which was scheduled to take place this weekend, has been cancelled. “We are very sorry we will not be able to host this popular event as planned,” Kristi Hunter wrote in the official announcement on the Spyderco forum. “We will certainly miss the opportunity to connect with our devoted fans and get your feedback on our latest designs. Currently, we do not have specific plans to reschedule the event this year, but please rest assured, the tradition will continue. As plans for future Meets develop, we will announce them on the Spyderco Forum.”

The knife world isn’t the only industry being impacted by coronavirus. Gaming expo PAX East, which runs until March 1st, is missing some big names this year, including Sony and Capcom.

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