BOATS 2020 Cancelled

[Jack Haines]

To be fair, all British boating journalists are currently tucked up in bed. It's only us insomniacs that know about this. Scratch that. They had since yesterday evening, so they had plenty of time to actually use the news section for this news.

MBY, Yachting Monthly and PBO all had this story on the front page of their websites yesterday evening.

 

[Lucy52]

Maybe, the organisers and exhibitors were able to take out cancellation insurance? It would have been prudent to do so and is quite normal at other times when organising conferences in order to cover your losses in the event of a cancellation. Your speaker might be taken ill and there is no suitable substitute available. I suppose it would depend on how risk averse the insurance market is, but even they still need to do business.

 

[JumbleDuck]

The more I think about this the more outraged I am. To do this the night before. Stands built. Staff in hotels etc is disgraceful. A week before fine. The politicians don’t pay for this the small businesses that were brave enough to exhibit do

"The figures show that a gathering of this sort risks a significant number of infections and deaths so we'd better close ... oh, hang on. They've built the stalls? Well, best let it go ahead."

 

[HissyFit]

MBY, Yachting Monthly and PBO all had this story on the front page of their websites yesterday evening.

So it was just YBW that was lagging. That's usually my portal to everything else.

 

[Tomahawk]

Err, have you noticed there is this thing called Covid that's killing people?

Except that for every three people who died from C19 an extra two people died because of it taking over every aspect of life. And as treatment improves the number of people dying from C19 will fall.... but the numbers dying as a result of closing down everything else in the economy will continue to rise.

Overall thi sis probably not a good or valuable move.

 

[DJE]

It was on the BBC TV evening news.

Aired at 18:30 yesterday on South Today.

I expect the South Today crew were down there to do their live boat show preview item but had a quick change of script.

 

[Birdseye]

Growing government fears? ! Bunch of incompetents
Bad news for all the exhibitors, no doubt a large financial hit.
Let’s hope for better news next year.

True. Is there really any excuse for Southampton City Council deciding this at a stupidly short notice? I hope they get well and trully sued for the costs they have put the organisers and exhibitors to. Its not an issue of the decision - it was never ereally a good idea given the virus. Its a matter of the timing of the decision.

 

[penberth3]

TBH, with the big increases in CV infections, I don't think anybody had any real choice. Ok, there's a case to be made that it could have been done sooner and, certainly an argument about fees, but anyone with half a brain would have known that there was always a risk that it would be cancelled at short notice. I haven't been to a boat show for a few years - too much temptation to spend money on stuff I don't need, but my recollection of the crowds suggests that social distancing's out the window.

Exactly that.

 

[penberth3]

True. Is there really any excuse for Southampton City Council deciding this at a stupidly short notice? I hope they get well and trully sued for the costs they have put the organisers and exhibitors to. Its not an issue of the decision - it was never ereally a good idea given the virus. Its a matter of the timing of the decision.

Have you ever been a councillor - with the responsibilities and liabilities that go with it?

 

[JumbleDuck]

True. Is there really any excuse for Southampton City Council deciding this at a stupidly short notice?

Would the costs have been less had they decided at a week beforehand? Should public health decisions be based on the costs to exhibitors at boat shows?

 

[Sandy]

Can this be removed as the event is well past.

 

[sarabande]

Except that for every three people who died from C19 an extra two people died because of it taking over every aspect of life. And as treatment improves the number of people dying from C19 will fall.... but the numbers dying as a result of closing down everything else in the economy will continue to rise.

Overall thi sis probably not a good or valuable move.

Tom

Where do these figures come from please ?