Denmark's 3 Days of Design fair has changed its dates to 15 to 17 June so that "the dates of the festival don't coincide with any other festival," after it was set to take place at the same time as Salone del Mobile and Design Shanghai.

The annual design festival in Copenhagen, which sees numerous showrooms open their doors to visitors and events and exhibitions take place across the city, was held in the autumn in both 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, its 2022 edition was set to go ahead in its more traditional early summer slot on 8 to 10 June.

Industry "should care enough about each other to give each other space"

But after Salone del Mobile, the world's largest design and furniture fair, announced it was moving its dates to 7 to 12 June as the ongoing pandemic forced it to postpone its April dates, the two fairs were set to take place at almost the same dates.

Trade fair Design Shanghai is also held around the same time, on 9 to 12 June.

Instead, 3 Days of Design has become the latest design fair to postpone its dates so far this year, choosing to move to the festival forward by one week.

The design event acknowledged the difficulty that the clash would have created in a post on Instagram.

 

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Above: 3 Days of Design announced the date change on Instagram. Top image: the Ukurant exhibition at last year's 3 Days of Design. Photo is by Jonas Jacob Svensson

"We believe that everyone in the industry should care enough about each other to give each other space," the trade fair said.

"Since you can’t be in two places at once... And so that the dates for our festival don’t coincide with any other festival, we hope you will join us in Copenhagen for this year's 3daysofdesign from the 15th - 17th of June 2022."

The decision was made after the festival received feedback from the design community.

"We have received so much incredibly positive feedback from our global design community, who don’t want to miss any of the exhibits, events, talks and activities that we have planned," festival founder Signe Byrdal Terenziani told Dezeen.

With a number of visitors and brands attending both fairs, holding Salone del Mobile and 3 Days of Design during the same dates could conceivably have led to a loss of visitors, at a time when many trade shows are hoping to return to some form of normality after two years of disruption.

3 Days of Design joins other big names in postponing fair

3 Days of Design is one of the most important trade shows in Scandinavia and many Nordic brands are choosing to introduce new launches in Copenhagen rather than Milan.

In an interview with Anders Byriel, CEO of Danish textile brand Kvadrat, during last year's edition of the fair, he said Copenhagen is in a "golden age" where it is becoming a manufacturing centre comparable to Milan.

Byrdal Terenziani said 3 Days of Design grows with each year.

"In 2021, our festival counted more than 200 exhibitors, making this the largest design festival in Copenhagen to date," she said.

The 2022 edition of 3 Days of Design will have the theme "Remember to Play". Italian designer Luca Nichetto has created the concept for the branding and visual theme, which will feature a collage of Danish icons: a famous design, a typical dish and an architectural landmark in Copenhagen.

Numerous other shows have been cancelled or forced to change their dates this year, including IMM Cologne, which has been cancelled, Maison&Objet, which has been postponed to March and the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, which has been moved to September.

Dezeen recently published a guide to twenty-five of the best design weeks and festivals for 2022 and when they are taking place.

3 Days of Design will run from 15 to 17 June in Copenhagen. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.