O=Mega21, scheduled for 2-4 September 2021 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC), is cancelled due to the current Australian state lockdowns and the uncertainty over border closures.
Joint organisers Optometry Victoria South Australia (OV/SA) and the Optical Distributors & Manufacturers Association (ODMA) said the decision, which followed a recent survey of those due to exhibit at the trade fair, and feedback from conference delegates, was the right one.
“As two leading bodies in this sector, ODMA and OV/SA have an obligation to do what is best for not only our members but the industry and the profession as a whole,” said OV/SA president Elise Pocknee-Clem.
ODMA chair Robert Sparkes said while there was a possibility that O=Mega21 could be rescheduled in its original format, uncertainty around the spread of Covid‐19, together with many people’s reluctance or inability to travel meant postponing would have been an “unwise decision”.
O=Mega23 will be presented in conjunction with the 4th World Congress of Optometry at the MCEC in September 2023.
