EVENTS. Will the curtain fall on the Basel fair?

April has been a very busy month in terms of announcements. After the postponement of the major watch fairs, and after the previous abandonment of Swatch Group in 2018, also other brands have decided to leave the historic Basel fair, whose origins date back to 1916 with the Schweizer Mustermesse.

An image of the fair in 1986, courtesy of baselworld.com

Over the decades, the fair has been the most important place of many manufacturers for the presentation of their models, as well the launch of novelties such the debut of the Harwood’s self-winding watch in 1926, the caliber 11 developed by the consortium held by Heuer, Büren, Dépraz, Breitling and Hamilton in 1969 or the year after for the presentation of the firsts Swiss watches animated by the quartz caliber Beta-21.

The communiqué issued by MCH Group on 14 April suggest a certain astonishment for this decision, as well as bitterness, accusing the project of a new Geneva-based trade fair had been at stake for some time and that the emergency caused by the Covid-19 as the discussions concerning financial agreements are only excuses. MCH points out also that after the previous year’s event had decided to make more investments, driven by the positive feedback from small and medium exhibitors.
Yet reading the comments of many journalists and industry representatives, the announcement of the farewell to Baselworld by many brands and the consequent idea of creating a new fair in favor of the new exhibition called Watches & Wonders, announced as early as October and which will replace the SIHH, seems not to be so unexpected. One of the biggest insinuations is precisely the excessive cost that the Baselworld event imposed on both the brands that expose and to the simple visitors, taking advantage of the importance and appeal that this event had on the world of watchmaking and enthusiasts.

Now we have just to see what will happens. For now, the MCH Group has announced the cancellation of the event scheduled from 28 January to 2 February 2021, while stating that together with exhibitors and visitors they will work on the design of a new exhibition format.