Google has announced that it is cancelling its annual developer conference, the Google I/O 2020, due to novel Coronavirus concerns. The company has confirmed this development on its official Twitter handle.
“Due to concerns around the coronavirus (COVID-19), and in accordance with health guidance from the CDC, WHO, and other health authorities, we have decided to cancel the physical Google I/O event at Shoreline Amphitheatre,” the company said in a statement. Furthermore, the brand has revealed that it will provide a full refund to those who have purchased the tickets to I/O 2020 by March 13, 2020.
The brand has further revealed that guests who have registered for I/O 2020 will not need to enter next year’s drawing and will be automatically granted the option of purchasing an I/O 2021 ticket. Google says that it will explore other ways to connect with the developer community over the coming weeks.
Previously, the brand cancelled its Google Cloud Next 2020 conference due to coronavirus concerns. he brand has said that it will be transforming the event into an online event. It will be known as Google Cloud Next ’20: Digital Connect. The event will be a free, global, digital-first, multi-day event.
The company will provide streamed keynotes, breakout sessions, interactive learning and digital ‘ask an expert’ sessions with Google teams. The brand has also revealed that it will refund all the paid Next 2020 conference tickets and it will cancel all attendees hotel reservations made through the conference website. The event will still take place from April 6 to April 8.