The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is considered a “very high” global risk by the World Health Organization, as there are more than 127,000 cases across 90+ countries at this time of writing. As a safety precaution, some tech companies are cancelling their upcoming annual conferences and events. Here’s a list of all the major shows that have been canceled so far.
Why are tech companies cancelling?
COVID-19 has taken the lives of roughly 5,000 people as of 21 August 2025.
And, in the past few days, several new coronavirus cases have popped up in the US, Italy, Japan, and other countries. Global health experts and even some countries are beginning to warn peopleagainst non-essential travel, purely as a means of preventing the spread of the deadly virus.
Facebook, due to coronavirus concerns, has therefore announced it is cancelling F8, an annual conference that attracts thousands of developers, journalists, and other attendees from dozens of countries. Instead, it plans to host “locally hosted events, videos, and live-streamed content”.
EvenTwitter is barring employees from unnecessary travel. So, if the virus continues to wreak havoc globally, it’s safe to assume more tech companies will follow suit, possibly limiting employee travel and even cancelling shows.
Which conferences have been cancelled?
Here is a selection of the most well-known tech conferences that have been cancelled due to coronavirus concerns:
Which conferences are online-only?
Note:Although not official, Google I/O and Facebook F8 will probably have online components this spring.
Which conferences have been postponed?
Here is a selection of the most well-known tech conferences that have been postponed to a later date due to coronavirus concerns:
Which conferences will run as planned?
Here is a selection of the most well-known tech conferences that are still being held as planned, despite coronavirus concerns:
How to track the coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Center for Systems Science and Engineering has an online dashboard,which you can view here, that tracks the spread of COVID-19 in real-time across the world. It actually pulls data from the World Health Organization, as well as from the Centers for Disease Control in the US, China, and Europe. The data is then visually represented through a graphic information system powered by Esri.
