CloserStill Media, the event’s organiser, will instead be focusing on how it can “support the profession during this time”, especially with “flu season fast approaching”, it announced in a press release yesterday (August 26).

The annual two-day exhibition, which hosts over 400 exhibitors at the Birmingham NEC, was due to take place this October. It will now take place at the same location on October 17-18 2021.

Mark Lyonette, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), said the Pharmacy Show is an “important event” that NPA members “look forward to attending.”

“I’m sure the decision to postpone this year’s show has not been taken lightly and we look forward to working with CloserStill for the event in 2021,” Mr Lyonette added.

Pharmacy Show event director Garry Tyson said that during “difficult times like the one that affects us today across the globe”, it is “important to remember the primary objective of trade shows”.

“A trade show is above all the opportunity for the market to meet, learn and collaborate together. The safety of our communities is of paramount importance,” he said.