Why it matters: The coronavirus has already caused plenty of disruption to the tech industry, including the cancelation of many massive conferences. Following Las Angeles’ decision to declare a state of emergency due to the spread of the virus, the next big event to be affected could be E3.
E3 organizer the ESA has issued an updated statement following the declaration. Having earlier this week said that planning for the show was “moving full speed ahead,” it is now “actively assessing the latest information.”
"The health and safety of our attendees, exhibitors, partners, and staff is our top priority. While the ESA continues to plan for a safe and successful E3 show June 9-11, 2020—we are monitoring and evaluating the situation daily," the ESA said.
"Our E3 team and partners continue to monitor Covid-19 via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). We are actively assessing the latest information and will continue to develop measures to further reduce health risks at the show."
According to LA’s coronavirus website, there are only a few cases in the region, but declaring a state of emergency "allows the city and county to qualify for additional funding needed to prepare for Covid-19 in the future, if such funds are needed at all."
The coronavirus has seen MWC, Facebook’s F8 conference, Google I/O, and other large events canceled. It’s also resulted in the Game Developers Conference (GDC) being postponed to the summer, and Nvidia moving its GTC 2020 conference to an online-only event.
Some companies, such as Sony, won’t be attending E3, choosing instead to host their own events. We haven’t seen any firms pull out over coronavirus fears yet, but the event is still three months away. Hopefully, the situation will have improved by then.
https://www.techspot.com/news/84273-could-e3-canceled-organizer-monitoring-situation-after-la.html
