Dear BCI members and peers in our bonsai community,
Founded in 1963, Bonsai Clubs International (BCI) is a non-profit public welfare organization. With more than six decades of steady growth, our membership spans more than 70 countries and regions worldwide. We have long been committed to promoting the integration and coexistence of global bonsai and suiseki culture, as well as the shared prosperity and development of bonsai and suiseki art worldwide.
Recently, the originally approved 2026 BCI Regional Exhibition in Malaysia was unilaterally and officially canceled by the local organizer. This decision was made without prior communication with the BCI Executives or the president of the organizing association. BCI had previously released relevant information about the exhibition through official channels, including our website and publications. Numerous members worldwide had independently arranged travel itineraries and booked transportation tickets. The abrupt cancellation of the event constitutes an unforeseen emergency.
In response to the significant inconvenience and travel disruptions caused by the hasty cancellation, the BCI Executives extend their most sincere apologies and profound regrets to members worldwide. We hereby issue this formal statement:
1. The cancellation of the 2026 BCI Malaysia Regional Exhibition is a unilateral decision made by the local organizer and falls beyond BCI’s jurisdiction. BCI received no prior warnings or written filing documents of any kind.
2. All members’ personal travel arrangements, flight bookings, hotel reservations, and all resulting incidental expenses are voluntarily arranged by individual members. All relevant travel costs and itinerary risks shall be borne solely by the members themselves.
3. BCI shall not be liable for any expenses arising from flight rescheduling, ticket refunds, itinerary changes, nor for compensation or indemnification of any indirect losses resulting from the event cancellation.
To continue meeting the cultural exchange needs of members worldwide and help stabilize our organization’s annual international event arrangements, we hereby release the draft plan for the upcoming international exhibitions:
The 2027 BCI International Bonsai Exhibition, scheduled for September 2027 in Italy, and the BCI Regional Exhibition planned for the Philippines in May 2027, are progressing steadily, with all preliminary preparations underway. Detailed event schedules will be released in due course. Additionally, the BCI Convention Committee is advancing preparations for more exhibition projects, with relevant information to be announced at a later date.
Moving forward, BCI will strengthen and improve the qualification-review and collaborative-management mechanisms for event organizers, enhance pre-event communication procedures and risk-assessment and control measures for international events, and make every effort to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
Bonsai art transcends national borders, and its cultural origins share a common root. We sincerely ask all members and friends to understand this special situation and to continue following and supporting BCI’s international-exchange activities. We look forward to meeting you at exhibitions in the Philippines and Italy, where we can appreciate the beauty of bonsai together and jointly promote the prosperous development of the global bonsai industry.
With warm regards,
Chang Chen
President, Bonsai Clubs International
