Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants award ceremony switches to online

Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants award ceremony will be hosted through an online broadcast instead of on-site gathering in Japan due to health concerns it has been announced.

The Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak has led to restricted travel policies across large parts of Asia, and the epidemic has become a concern in Japan. In response to the Japanese government’s advice to limit large-scale events, the organiser of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and Saga Prefecture announced there was, “no alternative but to reformat the awards ceremony and related events on this occasion”.

On top of the award ceremony being moved online, a series of on-site gastronomic gathering events scheduled to be hosted in Saga Prefecture, the southern island of Kyushu, from 22 to 24 March have been cancelled.

The 50 Best team is in the process of planning a streamed awards ceremony, which can support massive traffic and broadcast simultaneously online. Full details will be communicated as soon as possible.

Japan is now the third country in Asia after China and South Korea most affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, with total infected cases at 160 to date.