A number of design industry events that were set to take place in Hong Kong over the coming weeks have been cancelled due to continuing clashes between protestors and police in the city.
The annual Business of Design Week (BODW) Summit, the Design for Asia Awards, the Fashion Asia Hong Kong programme and the deTour design festival have all been cancelled.
One of the most high-profile events to be called off was the 18th annual BODW Summit, which was going to feature more than 70 speakers across 20 forums from 2 to 7 December.
With the UK as this year's partner country, the summit was set to play host to the largest ever delegation of British designers and architects to Hong Hong. The cohort was to be led by the chairman of the London Design Festival, John Sorrell, and include Thomas Heatherwick, Tom Dixon and Deyan Sudjic. Dezeen was set to be a media partner for the event, with chief content officer Benedict Hobson scheduled to take part in a panel discussion.
Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) ? the organiser behind the BODW, Design for Asia Awards and Fashion Asia Hong Kong events ? issued a statement last week in which it blamed "the current situation in the city" for the cancellations and promised full refunds for anyone that had bought tickets.
Transport disruption is a problem
A key factor contributing to the cancellations has been the demonstrators' increased targeting of Hong Kong's transport system in a bid to cause as much disruption as possible, according ...