We are all waiting to see if many events, cancelled last year, will take place this year.  The Olympic Games, if it happens, will be held without spectators.  Even so, the risks of so many international competitors gathering together may be too high and it could be postponed yet again.  Certainly public opinion in Japan is largely against holding the games.  Even if all the participants have been vaccinated there may be other variant strains and they may carry one of these back to their home country, completely unaware.  That said, perhaps a safe protocol can be put into place to enable the games to continue.

The tennis in Australia, for instance, had a fraction of the competitors of the Olympic Games and was held under strict ‘Covid rules’.  Even so, they had their fair share of issues with positive test results, contacts and quarantines.

With the vaccine situation in Europe going very slowly amid political turmoil, it looks as though only the UK will be near to full population vaccination by September at the earliest.  This must put into doubt the ability to hold IBC this year.  My inclination is that it will be cancelled for a second year.  Large international gatherings will probably be the last to recover to pre-Covid levels, if indeed they do at all.  This includes sporting events, conferences, exhibitions and concert tours.

NAB in October might just possibly still go ahead as the vaccination program in the USA is going well and they have more time.  I suspect that international visitors will be much reduced with possible curbs on travel both into the USA and back into their county of origin.  However NAB could exist with just USA visitors as the home market is so large.

David Bradley