London Wine Fair slams "extremely aggressive" move from Prowein amid clash of dates

20 January, 2022

London Wine Fair director Hannah Tovey has branded Prowein's decision to move the Dusseldorf-based show to May "a direct attack" on the UK drinks trade.

Prowein was scheduled to take place in March, but it has been moved to May 15-17 in response to the rapid spread of the omicron variant.

That has led to a direct clash with the London Wine Fair, which has always been scheduled to take place at Olympia from May 16-18.

The London Wine Fair has no plans to move its own dates in response to Prowein's "extremely aggressive" move.

Tovey said: "This is an extremely aggressive move by ProWein; a direct attack on both the London Wine Fair and the UK drinks market.

"The Fair has been a firm fixture in the wine trade’s diary for more than 40 years, and this move will be extremely disruptive for our industry.

"The decision has been taken without consideration for many of their exhibitors or for their UK visitor audience.

"We have made numerous attempts to contact them since last week when rumours of a date change started circulating. They have not had the courtesy to respond.

“This amounts to a huge upheaval for the wine industry, at a time when we are all craving a smooth return to normality. We are all aware of the impact Covid-19 has had on drinks industry exhibitions.

"The 2020 London Wine Fair was postponed to 2021, which subsequently took place digitally. At the time, our primary concern was to support our exhibitors, all of whom were offered a refund on their 2020 stands and we believe we behaved with the utmost integrity throughout.

"After the last two years of disruption, the drinks events industry should be working together to facilitate opportunities for the wine trade to do business."





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