12 September 2001: Speculation that the Frankfurt Motor Show could close before it ever opens to the public, because of fears it could become a target for a terrorist attack in the wake of the Twin Towers attack in Manhattan, have been denied by the organisers.

But IrishCar.Com has been told here that US-based companies such as GM and Ford are considering pulling out their stands at the show, Europe’s largest. The mood of celebration with which the show started yesterday has become sombre.

The show has been open to journalists for the last two days, and in a statement issued this morning the organisers said it ‘will go ahead’ with ‘stepped up’ security measures. We have just been told by organisers that rumours about a cancellation are not true, but a spokeswoman told IrishCar.Com that the opening ceremony and the visit by the state president have been cancelled.

She could not confirm or deny that any companies were withdrawing their stands.

A day of state mourning has been declared in Germany tomorrow, and the show organisers said that all exhibitors and visitors would observe two minutes of silence to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attack. BB/JR