Pure Life Experiences, the hosted-buyer show that takes place annually in Marrakech, Morocco, was canceled in the wake of the devastating earthquake that hit outside the city Friday night.
The quake, which had a magnitude of 6.8, killed more than 2,000 people, according to the Associated Press. Aftershocks continued to rattle the country Sunday, it said.
Pure was to have kicked off Sunday at the Palais Namaskar resort.
In a statement on its website and social media channels, Pure founder Serge Dive wrote that "we have come to the conclusion that Pure 2023 cannot go ahead as planned." Conference attendees were offered a credit note for next year's Pure, he said, "if they choose to request this."
However, for attendees already in Morocco in advance of the show, he said, the event organizers planned to open at Palais Namaskar for a "community-driven relief effort."
In an Instagram Story posted Sept. 10, Pure asked attendees to bring emergency supplies to the hotel to be distributed to affected villages: It listed items such as nonperishable food, mattresses, formula, clothing and medicine. It said transfers to Palais Namaskar would stop at local grocery stores for those who wanted to buy donations. QR codes were being made available onsite for people who want to make a monetary donation.
The supplies would be distributed via the Travel Link Foundation, Pure said.
In his initial statement, Dive said that Pure was working on options to facilitate bringing Pure attendees already in the country together in some form, "but in a very toned down format with no festivities ... we know conducting business meetings is far from everyone's minds right now."
In the follow-up Instagram Story, Pure indicated that some speakers on Sunday had offered to share their expertise with the community. "The day can be used to discuss long-term solutions for helping the communities affected," it added.