Startup Life/Events/News/ Finland’s Slush cancels November startup conference The conference planned for November 19 in Helsinki has been cancelled “due to the Covid-19 pandemic”. By Michael Stothard 6 April 2020 Julius Konttinen Julius Konttinen \Startup Life Inside the bitter falling out at the top of Web Summit By Freya Pratty and Eanna Kelly 29 October 2021 Startup Life/Events/News/ Finland’s Slush cancels November startup conference The conference planned for November 19 in Helsinki has been cancelled “due to the Covid-19 pandemic”. By Michael Stothard 6 April 2020 Slush, one of Europe’s leading tech conferences, which takes place every year in Helsinki, has been cancelled due to coronavirus — even though the event was not due to be held until November. Miika Huttunen, chief executive of Slush, said it was the “only responsible course of action” because they could not guarantee the safety of everyone involved and wanted to behave responsibly towards their partners and vendors. “If we would have been forced to make the call to cancel or postpone closer to the event there would have been ramifications not only to Slush but also to our community of partners, vendors and visitors,” he said. But the move is far more cautious than other similar conferences in Europe. The annual TNW (The Next Web) tech conference in Amsterdam set to take place in June was not cancelled, but pushed back to October. The Hello Tomorrow event in Paris was pushed back to October and Money 20/20 in Amsterdam pushed to September. It is still not clear what will happen to the Vivatech conference in Paris. Huttunen insisted, however, that it was the responsible move to warn partners and vendors early rather than stringing them along and cancelling at the last moment. “In addition to the wellbeing of people, it would also be irresponsible to overlook the unprecedented financial risks for everyone involved,” he said. The cancellation once again highlights the hammer blow that the coronavirus pandemic has been to the whole events sector, with tech- and startup-focused events badly hit. In the early weeks of the crisis, back in February, Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was cancelled and dozens of others — both big and small — have followed. Many events — including SaaStock, Impact Summit, CogX, Midem and Leeds Digital Festival — have moved at least parts of their events online. Huttunen said that Slush would now consider its options, which could mean some kind of digital offering. “We are not going to give up on our mission as finding solutions is part of Slush’s DNA,” he said. “Slush was born in 2008 in the middle of an uncertain economic climate, much like now. Back then, Slush was seen as a beacon of hope, and we want to find solutions that give hope amid uncertainty also now.” Related Articles Coronavirus: Which startups are winning and losing? By Kitty Knowles Click here to read more Member Startups still hiring in Europe amid coronavirus By Connor Bilboe Click here to read more Startup funding during the crisis: What’s really going on? By Amy Lewin Click here to read more Most Read 1 Member \Venture Capital German VCs are the second best paid in Europe 2 \Startup Life Where are Europe’s top digital nomad villages? 3 \Venture Capital New platform enables ‘everyday’ folk to invest in VC 4 \Venture Capital Europe gets its first creator-founded, creator-backed VC 5 \Public & Academic The European Commission has a big new plan for startups. Here’s what you need to know about it Join the conversation Subscribe Notify of new follow-up comments new replies to my comments