The Newport International Boat Show, scheduled for September 17-20, 2020 at the Newport Yachting Center, has been cancelled.
Due to spikes in new cases of COVID-19 across the United States, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, stated that, although Phase III of re-opening would have included no cap on the number of people at outdoor events, she is revising that to 250 people as a precaution. During her June 29 press conference she said, “Rhode Island and Connecticut are the only two states where numbers are not rising at this time. I want to see it continue that way.”
“The adjusted and stricter COVID guidance regarding events announced from the State was a strong indicator to us that we cannot move forward with a major event in this environment,” said Paul O’Reilly, CEO, Newport Restaurant Group and owner of the Newport International Boat Show. “There are just too many unknowns at this point and a very high probability that the show will not be allowed to move forward and, even if it was, it would be in a format that would clearly not be valued by our exhibitors and attendees. Therefore, we are shifting our focus to the 2021 show.”
