All physical events at next month's Dutch Design Week have been cancelled due to a rise in coronavirus cases in the city.
Eindhoven's mayor John Jorritsma announced the decision today, less than three weeks ahead of the biggest design event in the Dutch calendar.
Mayor "cannot decide otherwise"
"When I see the increasing numbers of infections in our city, with the images of the overflowing healthcare system in spring still vividly in mind, I cannot decide otherwise than to prioritise fighting the virus and preventing new infections," Jorritsma said.
"Welcoming or facilitating large groups of people who visit DDW in the city, is not part of that."
Dutch Design Week (DDW) usually attracts around 350,000 visitors to the city and bills itself as the largest design event in northern Europe. This year's festival was due to take place from 17 to 25 October with a cut-back physical schedule and increased online activity due to the pandemic.
The week will now only feature digital activities.
Decision "saddens us deeply"
"We knew this would be an odd year, but that the live festival now, with only 2.5 weeks to go, cannot take place at all saddens us deeply," said Martijn Paulen, director of DDW organising body Dutch Design Foundation.
"Of course this cannot replace the live week, but we are going to scale up the virtual programme to support the design field as much as possible in creating relevant connections."
"The des...