Rotary cancels its international convention in face of COVID-19 pandemic

The Rotary international Board of Directors has cancelled the 2020 Rotary International Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

President Mark Daniel Maloney said "We are all part of the Rotary family, and your safety remains our highest priority. Like the more than 20,000 registrants who planned to attend this year’s convention, I am very disappointed. However, this is the right and necessary decision to protect the health and safety of convention attendees, as well as those who call Honolulu home."

They were concerned about adequately protecting convention-goers from the risk of COVID-19 infection en route to, during, and after the convention. They were also concerned that restrictions on travel to the United States would be lifted by June.

We are exploring how we can share a convention-like experience with you through a virtual event, which could be a great example of us following the Rotary Action Plan goal of increasing our ability to adapt. We will have more to say on this in the near future.

Rotary has a global network with 1.2 million members.