27 March 2020: With Italy still in the stranglehold of the Coronavirus pandemic, Fiera Milano has announced that the 2020 Salone del Mobile is cancelled in the interest of public safety.

The Salone del Mobile was initially postponed from 21-26 April to 16-21 June. Still, with the Coronavirus crisis expected to stretch on into the summer, officials behind the Milan fair have decided to cancel the biggest design event of 2020, which generates millions of Euros for the Italian economy.

A statement from Salone’s organisers said: ‘Although we were determined to keep to the June date, to allow the annual event to take place as planned, the present, unprecedented circumstances and medium-term uncertainties now mean that this year’s Salone can no longer go ahead.’

The 2019 Milan Design Festival saw 386,236 people attend the Salone del Mobile, Fuorisalone and its satellite programmes, from 181 countries. Italy is among the worst countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 8,000 people at present.

Now, the organisation will turn its attention to the 2021 edition – the furniture fair’s 60th anniversary – taking place from 13 – 18 April 2021.

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