USITT 2020 Cancelled
Risk Too Great to Bring Thousands Together, Says Board
March 12, 2020
USITT has cancelled its 60th Annual Conference & Stage Expo in the wake of the global coronavirus outbreak. David Grindle, the organization’s executive director, made the announcement late on Wednesday. The event was scheduled to take place April 1-4 in Houston.
“Making this decision has been agonizing,” said Grindle. “This is an unprecedented move for us, but our Board of Directors feels strongly that the health and safety of our members must always be our number one priority. With more cases of COVID-19 expected in the U.S. and with no vaccines or approved medications to treat it, coupled with the World Health Organization’s declaration of a pandemic on Wednesday, the Board chose to act swiftly to protect our members and Conference guests.”
Central to the mission of almost any association is providing a space to bring members together. At USITT, the Institute has always been committed to providing the safest environment possible for the Annual Conference & Stage Expo.
With the emerging global threat of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, many of the 320 companies who had contracted to exhibit had notified the Institute that they would not be attending this year’s Stage Expo in the last several days, primarily due to company-wide travel restrictions.
Approximately 6,000 people were expected for the Houston event, the largest gathering of live entertainment design and technology professionals in the country. The Institute also had planned to celebrate its 60th anniversary with a party closing the Conference.
“We will find some other way to mark the occasion,” Grindle said.
USITT relies heavily on the income from the Annual Conference & Stage Expo, according to Institute Treasurer Kim Scott. While the enormity of this cancellation is still being calculated, Scott expects the impact to the non-profit association’s bottom line will be “catastrophic.”
Grindle reports that USITT National Office staff is working with Conference presenters to bring a portion of the Conference online, likely through webinars, so that some of the valuable education planned for the event can be retrieved. Plan formulation is underway and will be announced shortly.
The New World Rigging Symposium, held in conjunction with the Conference and co-presented with ESTA, has also been cancelled.
For those who had already registered for either event, USITT will reach out to registrants shortly regarding recompense.
“All of us in the Institute work on events that bring together groups of people,” noted USITT President Dan Culhane. “As such, our industry needs to be especially vigilant in the wake of this threat and mindful that our people — kept safe and healthy — are our most important asset.”
###
March 11, 2020 — 9:55 p.m. EDT
The USITT Board of Directors, in an unanimous vote, has cancelled the 2020 Annual Conference & Stage Expo scheduled for April 1-4 in Houston.
USITT will update Conference attendees and exhibitors tomorrow (Mar. 12) with details.
A Special Message About COVID-19
Please check back as we will be updating our COVID-19 statements frequently as the situation warrants.
March 6, 2020 — More than 320 exhibiting companies are excited to meet you at the USITT 60th Anniversary Conference & Stage Expo in a few short weeks. While we are readying for a great week, we are also mindful of events beyond our control.
At USITT, we are committed to always providing the safest environment possible when presenting our Annual Conference & Stage Expo.
With the emerging global threat of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, we expect attrition to occur. While ten of our exhibiting companies have notified us that they will not be attending this year’s Stage Expo, hundreds still are. And one of those companies, while not exhibiting, is sending people to assist with education.
The trend is not downward at this time. We continue to attract new vendors to the Stage Expo and add attendees.
USITT is taking extra precautions to ensure the safest possible event. Instead of trying to fill all space, we have widened the aisles in our Stage Expo to allow for an increase in personal space. The George R. Brown Convention Center has upgraded their disinfectants to hospital grade and are cleaning escalator rails, doors, and hardware throughout the day. Cleaning crews wear gloves and sanitize their hands after removing the gloves.
An additional 55 permanent and portable hand sanitizing stations are in place throughout the facility for easy public access.
In addition, we are eliminating touch screens at registration to reduce possible disease transmission. All self-serve areas of registration will be by scanner only. If attendees need assistance with checking in, our team at the service desk will be happy to assist.
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization issue guidance on public health threats, actual regulation of activity in the U.S. in wake of a threat is generally a local public health office.
To that end, USITT is currently following the advice from the Harris County (TX) Department of Public Health (HCPH).
As of March 6, 2020, HCPH reports 2 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in northwest Harris County. These cases are travel-related, not in the city of Houston, and there is no evidence of community spread. For those unfamiliar with the region’s geography, Harris County is larger than the state of Rhode Island.
We will adjust our conference plans and amend our refund policies if developments dictate changes.
Following the advice of public health officials, USITT encourages our members to practice healthy hygiene habits to help prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses like COVID-19, such as washing hands frequently, covering coughs and sneezes, avoiding touching eyes, nose, and mouth, and staying home if sick.
Currently, because of the heightened fears of possible virus transmission, USITT is taking a liberal stance on refunds. We ask that anyone who has registered for the Conference and who has reason to believe that they are ill, has flu-like symptoms or who has an underlying health issue that makes travel difficult or impossible, please submit a note from a physician stating that fact. We will honor a refund in those cases or defer your registration until our 2021 Conference in Columbus.
At this time, USITT will offer partial refunds to other parties only on a case-by-case basis. Please note that any non-illness-related refunds are likely to be denied. Please allow up to six weeks for refunds to be processed.
We realize this is a fluid situation and things change quickly. At this time the 2020 USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo and associated activities will be taking place as planned. USITT is, after all, made up of the people who ensure that the show goes on — safely, respectfully and equitably. We look forward to a fun, exciting, and healthy meeting in Houston.
----------------------
3/3/20
USITT is working with Houston First and the George R. Brown Convention Center to follow CDC recommendations for hand sanitizing and protection from flu and coronavirus. We are following the situation as it develops and will work to stay in line with CDC and WHO recommended practice.
The Convention Center has upgraded their disinfectants to hospital-grade and are cleaning escalator rails, doors, and hardware throughout the day. Cleaning crews wear gloves and sanitize their hands after removing the gloves.
An additional 55 permanent and portable hand sanitizing stations are in place throughout the facility for easy public access.
Some of the information appearing in the media on the virus COVID-19 has been misleading. You can find the latest facts and information on the World Health Organization website: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
For information from the Centers for Disease Control, visit their website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html
We realize this is a fluid situation and things change quickly. At this time the 2020 USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo and associated activities will be taking place as planned.
Additionally, attendees may want to have access to local emergency planning information. Here is the link to the City of Houston's emergency operations center: https://houstonemergency.org/.