The UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) organisation has announced that Defence Vehicle Dynamics (DVD) 2020 has been postponed until November due to concerns about the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The two-day event jointly held by the British Army and DE&S at Millbrook Proving Ground will now take place on 4 to 5 November this year. The event was originally slated to take place in September.
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Commenting on postponing the event, Director Land Equipment Major General Darren Crook said: “After careful consideration and many conversations between DE&S, Army Headquarters and Millbrook about the most effective and safe way to deliver DVD2020, we have taken the decision to delay the event until November.
“Although Covid-19 continues to cause challenges for large scale events, we feel that moving to November will give us the best opportunity to run a successful DVD2020, with all of the benefits that exhibitors and visitors expect from this important UK Land Forces event.”
DVD2020 follows in the footsteps of several defence events originally scheduled for this summer that have since been cancelled or postponed. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic Eurosatory, Farnborough Air Show and several other events have been called off or moved online.
Millbrook head of events Kevin Leaver said: “The safety and security of exhibitors and visitors to DVD2020 is our top priority and all attendees can be assured that we will remain compliant with the very latest Government guidance at the show in November.”
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By GlobalDataUnder new plans for the event, organisers have announced they are examining several measures to ensure the safety of attendees. These include staggered entry times, temperature checks, personal protection kits – including hand sanitiser and masks – a one-way system installed in exhibition halls, and the possible installation of screens in areas of interaction. Crowd density will also be measured to ensure social distancing can be properly maintained.
As with other events postponed until the end of the year, questions remain about the feasibility of hosting an event at the end of the year. There are concerns around whether a second wave of Covid-19 could lead countries back into lockdown and lead to events being further postponed or cancelled.
