The 2020 Specialty Coffee Expo Has Been Canceled

Daily Coffee News photo from the 2018 Specialty Coffee Expo in Seattle

The 2020 Specialty Coffee Expo and 2020 Re:Co Symposium scheduled to take place next month in Portland, Oregon, have been canceled.

The Specialty Coffee Association announced the cancellation of the events just moments ago, citing the impacts of COVID-19.

The group had been working on postponing the event, which annually brings more than 10,000 visitors and hundreds of exhibitors together, although the group was bound by contracts with hotels and other local vendors.

Last week, SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos explained the SCA’s legal limbo as the State of Oregon’s official order banning large gatherings lasted only until April 14. As the rapid escalation of the coronavirus pandemic made it clear the show would not occur as scheduled later that month, the SCA said it was working to get out of contracts.

The office of Oregon governor Kate Brown did not reply to multiple requests for comment from Daily Coffee News.

“Unfortunately, no other viable dates were available for the show to take place in Portland in 2020,” the SCA stated in its letter to exhibitors today. “We will be working with the SCA USA Chapter to explore options to hold the final US Coffee Championships of the year at a later date as appropriate. Re:co and Expo will return in April 2021 in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.”

As the largest coffee-specific trade show in North America, the cancellation will mark a huge loss of revenue for the SCA, while its cancellation has already caused financial losses for exhibitors and attendees alike as airlines, hotels and other venues seek to minimize their losses.

The next Specialty Coffee Expo is scheduled for April 2021 in New Orleans.

We’ll have more on this story in the coming days, but for now, the SCA is offering the following information for exhibitors and for attendees:

For Exhibitors

Next steps for exhibitor registrations:

• If you are registered as an exhibitor for Expo 2020: We will automatically credit your exhibitor registration fees to Expo New Orleans, taking place April 22-25, 2021.
• If you cannot attend Expo 2021 in New Orleans, please get in touch with us via email at [email protected] and we will issue a full refund for the exhibitor fees you paid for Expo 2020.

Next steps on hotel reservations:

• If you’ve already booked your hotel for Portland through the SCA’s hotel reservations portal, your hotel reservation has been automatically canceled, and you’ll be getting a Reservation Cancellation Acknowledgement via email in the next two weeks. For questions, email [email protected].

For Attendees

Next steps on registration fees:

• If you have registered for Re:co or Expo, we will automatically credit your registration to Re:co or Expo New Orleans, taking place April 2021 (see the events listing below).
• If you cannot attend Expo 2021 in New Orleans, please get in touch with us via email at [email protected] and we will issue a refund for the fees you paid for Expo 2020.

Next steps on hotel reservations:

• If you’ve already booked your hotel for Portland through the SCA’s hotel reservations portal, your hotel reservation has been automatically canceled, and you’ll be getting a Reservation Cancellation Acknowledgement via email in the next two weeks. For questions, email [email protected].