ICANN normally holds in person meetings three times a year, with the locations rotating between the global regions, as defined by ICANN.
In 2020 the organisation was meant to be meeting in Cancun, Kuala Lumpur and Hamburg. However due to COVID-19 the meeting in Cancun was cancelled a few weeks before it was meant to take place and a cutdown version of the meeting took place online instead. The upcoming meeting which was meant to be in Kuala Lumpur was switched to virtual a couple of months back, so the organisation was able to plan accordingly.
Last night the organisation officially cancelled the in person meeting which was to have been held in Hamburg. It will be online only, like the other two events this year.
It’s hardly surprising that the Hamburg meeting won’t go ahead in its traditional format. While many countries around the world are easing restrictions international travel at present is still practically non-existent. While things will have changed by October nobody knows what kind of restrictions could still be in place. Not many people will want to spend two weeks in mandatory quarantine both before and after a business meeting.
The upcoming ICANN meeting (ICANN 68) which was meant to take place in Kuala Lumpur has already started in some respects, with a series of meetings and webinars being scheduled in the run up to the meeting’s official dates. The official meeting will take place on Kuala Lumpur time between June 22nd and June 25th, so some attendees will be attending in their PJs!
