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STUTTGART, Germany—The organizers of the opti trade show, GHM Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH, announced today that the show’s 2021 installment is canceled. opti 2021 was scheduled to occur in Stuttgart, Germany, Jan. 8-10, 2021, and the decision to cancel the show is a result of rising COVID-19 infection rates, travel restrictions and feedback from the industry as a whole. The next opti show will instead take place in Munich, Germany, from Jan. 14-16, 2022. Dieter Dohr, chairman of the management board of GHM Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH said, “We have been observing the market very closely in recent weeks, and we have maintained close contact with our exhibitors in particular. Many continue to be very interested in introducing their new products to their customers in person and are clearly committed to opti. The current developments are now associated with more uncertainties, especially with regard to national travel restrictions, meaning that in the last few days many of the registered exhibitors and market leaders cancelled their participation in opti after their admission was confirmed, due to coronavirus. As a result, the situation is becoming increasingly uncertain for opti visitors as well. Under these conditions, we would not have been able to meet the justified expectations and the objectives pursued by the exhibitors who registered. So it was with a heavy heart that we decided to take this step. The decision to cancel was really not an easy one for us. We are now gathering our strength, looking to the future and directing our focus towards opti 2022, which will once again provide a positive impetus to the optical industry.”