The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

Baselworld 2022 shelved due to Covid-19 and customer ‘uncertainty’

View inside Baselworld 2019 watch fair.
A view inside the 2019 Baselworld watch and jewelry trade fair. © Keystone / Georgios Kefalas

The organisers of the annual Baselworld watch fair, which was cancelled the past two years due to the pandemic, have again postponed the 2022 spring edition.

The relaunch of Baselworld, the world’s largest and oldest watch and jewellery trade fair “needs more time”, the MCH Group said in a statementExternal link on Friday. It was due to take place in the Swiss city of Basel from March 31 to April 4, physically and online.

The current Covid-19 situation has again played a major role.

“It is particularly difficult to launch a new concept for a new target segment due to the renewed aggravation of the Covid situation and the associated uncertainty among customers,” MCH Group said.

Their decision follows experience gained from a Baselworld pop up event at the Geneva Watch Days fair, which took place from August 30 to September 3, and after intensive discussions with manufacturers and retailers.

MCH Group said that due to the cancellation of Baselworld 2022, Managing Director Michel Loris-Melikoff had decided to leave the company and take on a new challenge. He has been in charge of the fair since 2018.

Before the pandemic, Swiss watchmakers held two big watch fairs annually, the SIHH in Geneva and Baselworld. Both fairs were cancelled in 2021 due to the pandemic, but the SIHH, rebaptised Watches & Wonders, took place online.

In recent months Baselworld lost several major exhibitors to Watches & Wonders, including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Chopard, Tudor, Hublot, Zenith, TAG Heuer, Grand Seiko and Oris. Watches and Wonders Geneva will take place from March 30 to April 5, 2022.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Only one in five people attend a religious service at Easter

More

Just one in five Swiss attend a religious service at Easter

This content was published on Only one in five people in Switzerland attend a religious service during the Easter period or give up meat or alcohol for at least one day of fasting. Around 25% of those polled see Easter primarily as a family holiday, according to the survey.

Read more: Just one in five Swiss attend a religious service at Easter
Posters condemning Stephan Schmidheiny's role in asbestos deaths in Italy.

More

Swiss businessman gets prison term for asbestos deaths

This content was published on Stephan Schmidheiny has been sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison by the Turin Court of Appeal in a case against the former Eternit executive over deaths linked to asbestos exposure in Italy.

Read more: Swiss businessman gets prison term for asbestos deaths
Swiss foreign trade booms in the first quarter

More

Swiss foreign trade booms in the first quarter

This content was published on Swiss imports and exports reached new heights in the first quarter, driven by the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors. Shipments to the US rose sharply.

Read more: Swiss foreign trade booms in the first quarter

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR