(Bloomberg) -- Art Basel Miami Beach, the largest contemporary art fair in the U.S. was canceled for this year, the latest blow to an already reeling industry.
MCH Group, which owns the brand and earlier had to cancel editions in Hong Kong and Basel, Switzerland, blamed the pandemic in a statement Wednesday. MCH, which is partly owned by billionaire media scion James Murdoch, cited limitations and uncertainty about the staging of large-scale events, international travel restrictions and quarantine regulations.
Read more: James Murdoch invests in ailing art fair organizer
“It is with great regret and disappointment that we announce the cancellation of our December show in Miami
Beach,” said Noah Horowitz, the fair's director in the Americas.
The event has become the year's grand finale for the market, attracting billionaires from around the world, who snapped up art and partied with celebrities and models. For galleries, it represented a significant amount of business, and for wealth managers, a chance to woo potential clients. Last year's fair, which drew more than 80,000 visitors, became an international sensation after someone paid $120,000 for a peeled banana stuck to a wall with duct tape.
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