The organizers of the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) say the event planned for February 2023 will not now take place. It said it regretted the announcement.
However, and somewhat bizarrely, the organizers maintained that the Geneva event will now be held exclusively in Doha, Qatar, in 2023. Yes, that’s right, it’s just been moved several thousand miles to the Middle East.
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In a statement the organizers said: ‘The GIMS will be held exclusively in Qatar in 2023, the members of the Committee and the Foundation Board of the “Comité permanent du Salon international de l’automobile de Genève” decided today at a meeting in Bern.’
“Due to the uncertainties in the global economy and geopolitics, as well as the risks related to the development of the pandemic, the organisers have decided to focus exclusively on the planning of the event in Doha in 2023,” said Maurice Turrettini, President of the foundation “Comité permanent du Salon international de l’automobile de Genève”.
‘Uncertain times’
The original plan was to hold GIMS 2023 in two editions, the first from 14 to 19 February 2023 at Palexpo in Geneva and the second – a world premiere – in November in Doha, Qatar.
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By GlobalData“We have done everything possible to ensure that we could host GIMS 2023 in Geneva in February. The enhanced event format and project had been very well received. But in the end, the risks overweighed the opportunities,” says Maurice Turrettini.
“Our team has worked very hard to ensure that GIMS 2023 can take place in both Geneva and Doha,” said Sandro Mesquita, CEO of the Geneva International Motor Show, adding. “In these uncertain times, many brands are not in a position to commit to participating in a show in Europe in the winter. After assessing all the elements, it has become clear to the foundation that the 2023 Salon cannot take place in Geneva as planned. For the brands that wanted to participate in Geneva, the fans and the loyal visitors to our Geneva Salon, we regret that we had to decide to cancel this 2023 edition.”
World premiere in Doha
The first edition of the Geneva International Motor Show Qatar will take place in November 2023 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC) as well as several other decentralised venues, and will offer many unique and spectacular driving experiences. “We are now fully focused on organising GIMS in Doha and look forward to confirming the dates and format of this ground-breaking event with our partners at Qatar Tourism shortly,” added Sandro Mesquita.
The Qatar event is scheduled to take place every two years.
