On the 27th of February, the Polish State Sanitary Department decided to revoke the previously approved mass event license as a precautionary measure due to covid-19, also known as coronavirus. Here’s what the organizers of IEM Katowice had to say:
MTG and ESL fully respects the announcement from the Polish State Sanitary Department, as authorities in many nations at this time take precautious actions in order to secure public health. However, MTG and ESL regret the consequences for fans, teams and media coming to the venue.
The timing of the announcement couldn’t be “better”. This is, of course, a huge let down for many fans that have planned to visit the event in-person. And while ESL is working on refunds, I highly doubt ticket cost was the biggest investment for all those traveling from abroad. Most likely the attendees won’t be able to refund anything but event tickets. And while they can watch the event online, that’s definitely not the experience they came for.
IEM Katowice is not the first event to suffer from coronavirus. Earlier this month, Facebook and PlayStation have announced that both companies will not attend this year’s Game Developers Conference. Read the news story by Tristan for more details.
Here’s the event trailer to lighten your mood:
