It is with heavy hearts that the Makers Central Team have taken the decision to postpone the show, due to be held in May 2020. This decision has not been taken lightly and we have been following advice from the World Health Organisation and Public Health England and have been in constant contact with the NEC.

Government advice has been nothing but vague and particularly unhelpful for people in our industry. However, following their statement yesterday, we feel it is only a matter of time before events like ours will be banned completely. The closer we get to the show, the more disruption a postponement would cause.

The health and safety of our staff, sponsors, exhibitors and visitors is, and always will be, our number one priority and it is because of this that we now believe this is the right decision for us to make as things stand. The virus is expected to reach a peak during April and May and our show falls right in the middle of that period.

This decision has been a difficult one and has not been taken lightly, which is why it has taken us some time to make what we believe is the right decision for all involved. We wanted desperately for the show to go ahead as planned, as so much hard work has already gone in to it, but it would not be a responsible decision. Also, our ticket sales have slowed considerably and we believe this will negatively impact on our sponsors, exhibitors and also our visitors.

We have many visitors and exhibitors joining us from all over the world and with the uncertainty surrounding travel, there are no guarantees they will be able to get to the UK, let alone return home.

Please accept our apologies that it has taken time for us to communicate this to you all, but there are only 3 of us in the Makers Central team and we have been frantically concentrating our efforts on nailing down an alternative date that we believe will be suitable for all. We have had to make contact with all our suppliers and contractors in the first instance as without them the show would not be possible.

We would like to apologise for the blanket message at this time, we will be trying to contact all of our sponsors and exhibitors individually over the coming days, but as only 2 of us are office based, please bear with us as this may take some time.

This is a very upsetting time for us, and full disclosure, the future of the show rests on how people now react to our decision. Some people on social media have suggested our Event Cancellation Insurance will cover us for any losses caused by this postponement, but unfortunately, ECI does not cover cancellation caused by communicable diseases. There will be no help coming from that to support us.

We have booked a new date of 8^th & 9^th August 2020 with the NEC and hope this date will be agreeable to most. Anyone who has purchased a ticket for our show need not worry, the tickets will be transferable to the new dates and you do not need to take any further action. If you are unable to make the August show, your ticket will remain valid for the next show in 2021.

It is understandable that some of you may still want a refund, but we would urge our followers and supporters to please try their best to accommodate the new dates as refunding any monies will push makers Central into a vulnerable position that we may be unable to recover from. This is a very difficult time for us, as it is for many small businesses worldwide and in order to secure the future of the show, we need your help. If you have no choice but to request a refund, we will action these, but will be unable to do so until the postponed show has gone ahead.

Please bear with us while we make all necessary arrangements to facilitate this postponement, and contact everyone involved, as mentioned there are only 2 of us in the office, so this may take some time. Please keep checking back to our website for updates. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support of our show, we couldn’t do it without you! We hope you and your loved ones stay safe and well during these troubling times.

We truly hope to see you all in August 2020.