Is the coronavirus putting Bike Days at risk?

At the moment, the coronavirus has left organizers of major events in a tight spot, with a series of events being cancelled in the last few days. The first bike festivals will soon be taking place, starting with the Urban Bike Festival in Zurich. For the time being, the plan is to hold on to the event at the end of March, but await further measures from the authorities. If there is no coronavirus easing in sight, the Bike Days at the beginning of May could also be at risk.

The nationwide ban on events with over 1000 participants will initially apply until March 15. This affects events such as the Engadin Ski Marathon, the Geneva Motor Show and the Basel Carnival. There have also been significant cancellations abroad, such as the ITB in Berlin, the world's largest and most important tourism trade fair. National football matches have been canceled and ice hockey games have been played without spectators. Meanwhile, there are also initial calls to cancel the Ski World Cup prematurely.

The coronavirus has not yet had a significant impact on mountain biking. The first races in Cyprus are in the books, and there have been no announcements from the Cape Epic so far that would suggest it will be canceled. But: In the current situation, everything can change permanently, from daily to hourly. For this reason, the organizers of the Urban Bike Festival have informed you as a precaution that they are sticking to the event, but at the same time are closely monitoring the decisions of the authorities.

An announcement from the organizers of the Urban Bike Festival on 28 February:

"As you have seen in the media, the Federal Council banned all events in Switzerland with more than 1000 people this morning as a special measure against the further spread of the coronavirus. The ban is initially valid until March 15, 2020 and does not affect the Urban Bike Festival at this time. However, we are aware that this may change over the next few days/weeks.

In the course of this scenario, we have decided to continue the ongoing planning and preparations for the time being without interruption, while we keep a close eye on the further development of the situation and the announcements of the authorities. Cancellation of the Urban Bike Festival 2020 is not an issue at the moment and will only occur at a later date as a consequence of an official ban.

If no additional official measures are formulated before March 15, 2020, we will inform you about everything else in an update on March 16, 2020. At that time, we will know whether the ban will be further extended or eased."

https://www.ride.ch/de/news/gefaehrdet-das-corona-virus-die-bike-days