Organizers announced that the “uncertainties surrounding the exceptional health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic” force them to cancel Potato Europe 2020, in order to protect the event’s visitors and exhibitors. The next edition of Potato Europe cycle will take place in September 2021 in the Netherlands.

“Due to the international Covid-19 pandemic of recent months and the ensuing crisis, we have been forced to take the decision to cancel the potato sector’s European exhibition planned for September 2-3, 2020 at Villers-Saint-Christophe in France. The general level of uncertainty along with the ongoing health crisis, the measures of physical distancing imposed and the restrictions on international

travel that persist put us in case of emergency and force us to make this difficult decision,” the organizers said in a statement.

Potato Europe had been planning numerous dynamic demonstrations, technical workshops and conferences. Around 400 exhibitors were preparing to welcome 15,000 visitors, one third of whom were expected to come from abroad. Welcoming such a large audience is now made improbable by the limit currently set by the French government at 5,000 people for outdoor events; moreover, international participation is obviously highly compromised due to current and future restrictions concerning international travel.