Delegates to next month’s Mipim property conference in France have been told they will be the first to hear if advice around the coronavirus changes.
Organisers of the Team Leicester delegation said there is nothing to suggest the event will be affected - at least for now.
It comes after the actual organisers of the four day expo in Cannes, Reed MIDEM, issued a series of measures for its 27,000 attendees in response to growing fears over a potential global pandemic.
They said they were “monitoring the situation very closely and following local and national travel and health guidelines”.
They added they would be:
– Ramping up advice about stopping the spread of germs among delegates
– Working with airports, hotels and the city of local authorities in Cannes to monitor the situation and spread health and safety messages
– Reinforcing the on site medical team at the Palais des Festivals venue
– Stepping up levels of hygiene and cleanliness within the venue
– Providing help to exhibitors who want to put in extra measures to stop germs spreading
– Providing regular updates to delegates
The impact of the virus has already led to the cancellation of the world’s biggest phone show, Mobile World Congress, which had been due to attract 100,000 people to Barcelona this week.
BT, Facebook, LG, Nokia, Sony and Vodafone had been among high-profile exhibitors to pull out over coronavirus fears.
MIPIM 2020 is set to take place from March 10-13, bringing together business leaders, investors and politicians from around the world to promote their cities, regions and countries and to scope out investment opportunities.
For the second year, the official Team Leicester delegation is being co-ordinated by Leicester events and marketing specialist Associate Events, which hosted a briefing breakfast at Leicester’s new Novotel Hotel on Tuesday morning.
Associate Events managing director Alister de Ternant said representatives of the 20-or so Leicester and Leicestershire businesses, council bodies and university groups heading out to Cannes in less than two weeks would be getting the latest advice.
He said: “People keep asking me “is Mipim going ahead”?
“We all know there has been a development with coronavirus in Italy, with people being put in quarantine if they have flown back to the Ƶ, and fears about international events.
“We have a number of companies we are representing in Cannes so our ears are being kept close to the ground.
“Reed MIDEM has said safety comes first and at the moment has said Mipim is going ahead.
“The reality is the mobile phone conference down in Barcelona was cancelled because 90 per cent of the attendees were from Asia, and were dropping out by the day.
“I would say, if you are concerned, be vigilant, be careful and take any health and safety advice given to you.”
He said general safety measures meant day-to-day life was still going on as normal around the world.
He said: “Every airport in the world would have been shut down if it was that bad, as well as sporting events across Europe.
“Leicester City’s King Power Stadium holds 32,000 people, for instance, so there would be no games on if they wanted to stop large numbers of people coming together.
“If anything changes delegates will hear from us first.”
Team Leicester will once again be part of a Midlands Ƶ delegation which Mr de Ternant said had invested £1.8 million in a pavilion at the Palais des Festivals to host talks, Q&A sessions, meetings and drinks receptions during the expo.
The city and county will also be making use of a yacht - Liquid Sky - for a group reception, after it was rented for the week by a consortium of local businesses.
Team Leicester also hosts an evening meal for delegates and guests on the Wednesday night.
