Facebook has cancelled the ‘in-person’ parts of its annual F8 developer conference due to fears over the spread of coronavirus. The event was due to take place on 5-6 May in San Jose, California.
In the announcement, Facebook director of platform partnerships Konstantinos Papamiltiadis said:
“In place of the in-person F8 event, we’re planning other ways for our community to get together through a combo of locally hosted events, videos and live streamed content. We’ll share additional details on our plans for F8 in the coming weeks.”
It follows the complete cancellation of Mobile World Congress, the tech and wireless industry’s biggest annual event that draws over 100,000 visitors to Barcelona every year. It was due to run 24-27 February but was axed for fears of coronavirus spreading to the event due to the mass international travel involved.
F8 is held in San Jose where Facebook donates portions of its ticket profits to an organisation that promotes diversity in the tech industry. Facebook said it was doubling its donation to $500,000 in the wake of the cancellation of the event, seemingly to make up for the loss in local economic boom usually associated with holding F8 in San Jose.