Three toy and licensing events scheduled to be held in Shenzhen, China this March have been postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

The Toy & Edu, Baby & Stroller, and Licensing China, a new addition to organiser Messe Frankfurt’s portfolio of fairs for 2020, were to take place simultaneously from 6-8 March, but will now be held at a future date.

The postponement follows a recent notice by the Guangdong Province Department of Commerce to suspend all large-scale events due to the Novel Coronavirus outbreak.

Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, said in a statement: “Messe Frankfurt’s first priority is the safety of our stakeholders, hence our decision to postpone the fairs to a later date.

“The government’s decision to suspend all large-scale trade and economic events to help control the spread of the virus is one all three co-organisers of the fairs wholeheartedly support.

“We are already holding discussions with the venue about possible dates later this year to reschedule the fairs, and will make an announcement in due course.”

The Toy & Edu China, Baby & Stroller China and Licensing China fairs are due to be held in Shenzhen for the first time this year in the brand-new Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center, relocating from their previous home of Guangzhou.