Initially, COVID was the reason why many motor shows around the world failed to take place, some would eventually recover while others simply died.
The Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) will not be taking place in Geneva until further noticed. The global motor show which took place every March has been moved to Qatar, this has been confirmed by the Comité permanent du Salon international de l’automobile de Genève.
It will now be known as the “Geneva International Motor Show Qatar” and it will take place in Doha, Qatar. The committee is currently planning to hold its first event in November 2023 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC).
The committee cited “uncertainties in the global economy and geopolitics, as well as the risks related to the development of the pandemic” as some of the reasons why the event won’t be taking place in Geneva, they had planned to hold it in February 2023.
It’s indeed very sad as the GIMS was a major venue for global car debuts, the last event to be held in Geneva was the 2019 edition. GIMS brought all car makers and major tuners to the Palexpo every year, with an attendance exceeding 500,000 people. The world media would come in big numbers too, over 10,000 of them from numerous media houses.
The Qatar event will be taking place very two years.
