Coronavirus-canceled events: A rolling list of scrapped plans amid the outbreak

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As coronavirus concerns spread across the world, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls an “emerging, rapidly evolving situation,” businesses are scrambling to take precautions to curb the spread of the disease. Here’s an up-to-date list of events that have been canceled in light of the global epidemic.

Blizzard Overwatch League Games (2/29-3/22) — Seoul, South Korea

The gaming company, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (ATVI), has canceled a series of the e-sports matches “in order to protect the health and safety of our players, fans, and staff.”

Geneva Motor Show (3/2-3/15) — Geneva, Switzerland

The auto convention is canceled after Switzerland's Federal Office of Public Health placed a ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people through at least March 15. "We regret this situation, but the health of all participants is our and our exhibitors' top priority,” organizers said in a statement.

Beautycounter Leadership Conference (3/5-3/7) — San Francisco, California

The cosmetics company is canceling its summit “due to the serious concerns posed by the spread of COVID-19, and in light of the recent state of emergency declaration by the City of San Francisco and the increased warnings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Instead, the brand will livestream its event from Los Angeles on Friday, March 6, 2020.

Facebook’s Global Marketing Summit (3/9-3/12) — San Francisco, California

Over 4,000 participants were set to gather at the Moscone Center for Facebook’s (FB) marketing summit. “Out of an abundance of caution, we canceled our global marketing summit due to evolving public health risks related to coronavirus,” a Facebook spokesman told Reuters.

Game Developers Conference (3/16-3/20) — San Francisco, California

As of Thursday afternoon, the GDC is still on. But major participants like Microsoft (MSFT), Facebook, Electronic Arts (EA), Sony (SNE), and Unity have pulled out, citing health and safety concerns.

Attendees stand in line to try out the new Oculus Quest Virtual Reality (VR) gaming system at the Facebook F8 Conference at McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, on April 30, 2019. - Got a crush on another Facebook user? The social network will help you connect, as part of a revamp unveiled Tuesday that aims to foster real-world relationships and make the platform a more intimate place for small groups of friends. (Photo by Amy Osborne / AFP)        (Photo credit should read AMY OSBORNE/AFP via Getty Images)
Attendees stand in line to try out the new Oculus Quest Virtual Reality (VR) gaming system at the Facebook F8 Conference at McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, on April 30, 2019. (AMY OSBORNE/AFP via Getty Images)

Shanghai and Beijing Fashion Weeks (3/25-3/31) — China

China’s two largest cities have indefinitely postponed their strings of fashion shows. The Shanghai show has grown to “become one of the most powerful regional fashion weeks with a big talent pool and strong Chinese spending,” according to WWD.

Milan Furniture Fair (4/21-4/26) — Milan, Italy

Salone del Mobile is the largest furniture and design show of its kind, attracting over 434,500 attendees in 2018. Originally scheduled for April, the event has been postponed until June 16.

Watches and Wonders (4/25-4/29) — Geneva, Switzerland

The biggest luxury watch trade show has been canceled. According to organizer The Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, the decision was made “in order to protect the health and well-being of all our guests, press, partners and teams.”

Facebook’s F8 Developer Conference (5/5-5/6) — San Jose, California

This annual tentpole event attracted over 5,000 developers last year. In place of the in-person F8 event, Facebook is planning other ways for the developer community to get together through a combo of locally hosted events, videos and live streamed content, according to Facebook Director of Platform Partnerships Konstantinos Papamiltiadis.

Please check back for more updates.

Melody Hahm is Yahoo Finance’s west coast correspondent, covering entrepreneurship, technology and culture. Follow her on Twitter @melodyhahm. Read more:

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