Kafka Summit London 2020 Update

Given the growing concern and global impact of COVID-19 (better known as the coronavirus), we’ve made the decision to cancel the upcoming Kafka Summit London. While this decision was incredibly difficult—trust me!—we believe it is in the best interest of the presenters, attendees, sponsors, Apache Kafka^® community, and general public.

I understand how disappointing this is if you were planning on speaking, attending, or even just watching the videos online after, like thousands of people do. If you know me, you know I love events like this, so I share your disappointment that it can’t move forward. But the consensus has clearly emerged that the joys of the spring conference season are not to be ours in 2020. This is very clearly the right sacrifice to make in service of the public’s health.

We are working with sponsors and with anyone who has registered to reimburse you for whatever fees you’ve paid. And speakers, I very directly understand your disappointment at not being able to give the talk you were planning to give. If you were accepted for London, I can say your chances for Austin are excellent, and I invite you to resubmit your abstract for Kafka Summit Austin this August.

Meanwhile, we will continue to evaluate Meetups on a local basis. We will not conduct any meetings that we believe pose a threat to your or your community’s health, and we are working to provide online alternatives where possible in accordance with Meetup.com guidelines. In light of the crisis, we have been able to convert some Meetups into online events, which is not as good a thing as meeting in person, but is a perfectly workable substitute under the circumstances. If you have any questions about Meetups, please drop us a line at community@confluent.io.

And finally, with this crisis hopefully abated and our many friends across the world restored to health and a normal pace of life, we are looking forward to seeing you at Kafka Summit Austin this August.