World Coffee Events (WCE) and the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) have cancelled the 2020 World Coffee Championship events scheduled to take place in Melbourne and Warsaw, due to the impact of pandemic-related international visa and travel restrictions.
The 2020 World Barista Championships and World Brewers Cup were scheduled to take place 3 to 6 November at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo, which has now been cancelled. The World Coffee In Good Spirits, World Latte Art, World Cup Tasters, World Coffee Roasting, and Cezve/Ibrik Championships were scheduled to take place during World of Coffee Warsaw in October.
We know that this is disappointing news to many, but as outlined by ASCA earlier this month, we still fully intend to host the 2020 Condesa Co lab Australian Coffee Championships.
This will likely follow the third scenario we suggested, a digital-only nationals held in a closed environment.
Only competitors, sponsors, judges and a film crew would be onsite. The event would be livestreamed and filmed, with extensive post-production to produce show reels of all of our competitors.
“It provides a great opportunity for our members and sponsors to really get ASCA’s brand out there in the silence and void of content being created globally at the moment,” ASCA President Kieran Westlake said.
The 2021 World Barista Championship and World Cup Tasters Championship will be held to the World of Coffee Athens trade show next June. WCE and the SCA are still exploring location options for the 2021 World Coffee in Good Spirits, World Latte Art, World Brewers Cup, and World Coffee Roasting Championships, which will be held no earlier than June 2021.
The 2020 Australian Champions will represent Australia at the 2021 world events, allowing ASCA to adjust its competition cycle so champions can hold their titles for longer and have more time to prepare for the World Championships.
We encourage anyone with questions to read WCE’s Frequently Asked Questions section or reach out to them via email at info@worldcoffeeevents.org
Image Copyright Lanny Huang for WCE