As the impacts of the Coronavirus outbreak spread across the globe, large-scale gatherings and conferences planned for this spring are weighing whether to proceed as planned. Italy, where the annual Salone del Mobile Milan and the Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia are set to get underway in just a few weeks, is one of the hardest hit countries outside of China grappling with the respiratory illness. 

Today, the organizers of Salone del Mobile Milan, which drew over 434,500 visitors from 188 countries in 2018, moved to push back the event to June 16th. In a joint press statement posted to Twitter, Milan Mayor Guiseppe Sala, Salone del Mobile President Claudio Luti, and Federlegno Arredo Eventi President Emanuele Orsini explain their plan to postpone the upcoming edition of the Salone del Mobile Milan due to coronavirus fears.

The statement from Salone del Mobile in full reads

"...following an extraordinary meeting today with the board of Federlegno Arredo Eventi, and in review of the ongoing public health emergency, the decision has been taken to postpone the upcoming edition of the Salone del Mobile Milan to 16th – 21st June. Confirmation of the change of date for the trade fair – strongly supported by the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala – means that the manufacturers, in a major show of responsibility, will be able to present their finalized work to an international public that sees the annual appointment with the Salone del mobile.milano as a benchmark for creativity and design."

For now, it remains unclear if La Biennale di Venezia will proceed as planned or if its organizers will also opt to push back the show. A London press event scheduled to present work from La Biennale scheduled for March was recently rescheduled as a streaming news conference to be broadcast from Venice on February 27. Archinect will update this story as news of the biennial takes shape.