Major UK woodworking exhibition cancelled
30 November 2021Organisers of the UK’s largest woodworking event – the W Exhibition – have cancelled the upcoming show in February, citing the emergence of the new Omicron Covid variant as part of its reason for the decision.
The Montgomery Group, which organises the event at Birmingham NEC, says the cancellation was in the best interests of stakeholders and for the future of the show.
The February 6-9 event had already been rescheduled from September 2020 due to the pandemic. The new date for the next event will be September 24-27, 2023, by which time it will be five years since the previous show held in 2018.
The W Exhibition is the UK’s flagship event for the manufacturing and joinery industries with a 40+ year history, showcasing machinery, technology and materials.
“It is with a very heavy heart that we have decided to cancel the W Exhibition 2022, which had to be postponed from its original dateline in September 2020 due to restrictions on the hosting of events in the context of the Covid pandemic,” said W Exhibition managing director Nickie West.
“Despite huge appetite from visitors, and a genuine enthusiasm from new and emerging companies within the sector, we have decided that it is in the best interest of our committed and supportive stakeholders, and indeed the future of the show, if we give the industry a longer timeline to work towards. This decision has been further cemented by the recent emergence of the Omicron variant.”
Ms West said Montgomery was consulting with stakeholders to redefine its proposition and “re-imagine” the show.
