Coronavirus has spread in 70 nations in two months since the first positive case was identified in China's Wuhan region. The virus has not only claimed over 3,000 lives, a majority of them in China but has left the world economy in tatters. From Sensex to Japan's Nikkei, Germany's DAX to the United States' Dow Jones -- stocks have plummeted to their worst levels since the 2008 recession.
Most countries, including India, have imposed visa curbs, while major business events have been cancelled across the world. Here's a list of major international events that have been called off due to the deadly coronavirus.
Google News Initiative summit
Tech giant Google Inc called off its annual news conference to be held in Sunnyvale, California, in April. The event brings together several hundred media people. Google Vice-President for news, Richard Gingras said the wellbeing of "our guests is our number one priority". Through Google News Initiative summit, Google aims to support "quality journalism" and work with thousands of news organisations to meet their business needs and industry challenges.
Geneva International Auto Show
The 90th Geneva Motor Show that was set to begin next week has been cancelled, organiser Palexpo said. The event was called off after Switzerland cancelled all programmes comprising over 1,000 people in the country. Experts say it'll lead to a loss of over 250 million Swiss francs (or $257 million) worth of business.
Facebook F8 developer conference
Every year, Facebook connects with global developer community at F8 event and shares its vision for the future. But given the growing concerns around COVID-19, the company cancelled "the in-person component of F8, 2020", which was to be held in May. "This was a tough call to make -- F8 is an incredibly important event for Facebook -- but we need to prioritise the health and safety of our developer partners, employees and everyone who helps put F8 on," the tech giant said.
Mobile World Congress
The global telecom industry's biggest event, Mobile World Congress (MWC), was called off due to coronavirus outbreak. Scheduled between February 24 to 27, 2020, at Barcelona, the GSMA cancelled the event less than two weeks before kick-off. GSMA is the industry trade body representing over 1,000 companies across the mobile ecosystem, including mobile operators, handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. Over 1 lakh people attend the event every year.
Disney in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo
One of the biggest theme parks, Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea, will be closed till March 15 due to concerns about coronavirus infections spreading in Japan, its operator said. With this, all of Walt Disney's theme parks in Asia stands temporarily shut right now. The announcement came after a government recommendation that big gatherings and events be curtailed for two weeks. The company estimates over $200 million worth of losses due to closure of its theme parks across Asia, including China.
Milan Furniture Fair
Milan's 'Salone del Mobile' event, which is the largest furniture fair in the world, has been postponed until June. Italy has reported 21 deaths due to the deadly virus, nearly 1,576 positive cases identified so far. Other events that have also been cancelled include Cherry Blossom Festival, Beijing and Shanghai fashion weeks, Paris and Milan fashion weeks and Chinese Grand Prix.
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