Major Toronto tech conference Collision cancelled because of coronavirus fears

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The massive Toronto technology conference Collision has been cancelled for 2020, joining the ranks of other gatherings and conventions worldwide facing cancellation over fears of spreading the new coronavirus.

The conference was scheduled for June. More than 25,000 people attended last year in Toronto after it relocated from New Orleans. Its organizer, Connected Intelligence Ltd., which operates under the name Web Summit, says the conference will continue to take place virtually through its dedicated app, with both speaker presentations and networking opportunities.

People who paid to attend will be eligible for refunds – even if they participate in the virtual conference – or can use their tickets for next year’s in-person edition, the organizer said.

“Moments like these, you have to try and do the responsible thing,” Web Summit chief executive Paddy Cosgrave said in an interview. He said the organization expects to lose $10-million because of the cancellation.

Businesses worldwide are tightening rules around business travel as COVID-19 spreads, putting a halt to numerous conferences. Several Canadian tech companies, including e-commerce platform Shopify Inc. and Vena Solutions Inc., a financial-planning and analysis software company, have cancelled major 2020 conferences for their users and partners in the past week.

So have Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s search giant, Google, both of which had flagship conferences scheduled for May. Many of them have promised would-be attendees that they can attend a virtual event instead.

Late Friday afternoon, organizers of the Austin, Texas media, arts and technology festival South by Southwest said this year’s edition was cancelled. It was scheduled to start next week. The festival routinely attracts more than 100,000 attendees.

Both Mayor John Tory and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau touted Collision as proof of Toronto’s rise as a global technology hub. Mr. Cosgrave has previously suggested that Canada’s openness and diversity made it a natural fit for relocation from the United States in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidency.

“I am disappointed that Collision has had to make what I know is a tremendously difficult decision,” Mr. Tory said, adding that Toronto is committed to helping host the conference online.

Sunil Sharma, managing director of the Techstars Toronto accelerator, is heavily involved in Collision and helped bring it to the city. He said that this year’s attendees were expected to come from 125 countries. The cancellation, he said, “is a big decision. It really illustrates the fact that this is a highly unusual tech conference for Canada. I cannot think of an example where this many countries are represented, or this many people come to Toronto.”

Mr. Cosgrave said that while it can be financially difficult for smaller organizers to cancel conferences, his company had sufficient cash to handle the refunds and sunk costs. Web Summit also runs an eponymous conference in Lisbon that sees as many as 70,000 attendees each year, with its next edition scheduled for November. The CEO said the organization had yet to make a decision on cancelling the conference since it is so far in the future, but that it could financially handle it if necessary.

Collision’s app includes chat capabilities that conference delegates can use for networking; Mr. Cosgrave hopes virtual attendees will take advantage of this in the absence of face-to-face conversations. “No amount of software will ever replace that,” he said. “Nevertheless, this calls for creative solutions.”

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