The feedback regarding the preferred way of participation in the BauSIM 2020 ("online" or "on site in Graz") has shown that a considerable number of authors prefer online participation. This result is understandable, especially in view of recent developments (formation of new COVID-19 clusters). These developments also increase the risk of a short-term cancellation of an on-site event in Graz. In the interest of health and reliability of planning for the participants and the conference team, the Conference Board unanimously decided to hold the BauSIM 2020 as an online conference. As a result, the participation fees for the conference have been adjusted. The BauSIM 2020 team will provide you with information about the program and the modalities of the online conference in the next few weeks. We would like to take the opportunity to once again thank all authors for their contributions and the members of the scientific committee for supporting the review process. Registration for the BauSIM 2020 is now possible.

Unfortunately, Covid19 has affected the preparations for this years’ conference. The conference committee received the confirmation from the vice chancellor (Rektor), that (in theory) we can proceed with the organisation of the conference at TU Graz on the understanding that we will adhere to strict restrictions and guidelines in terms of hygiene and public safety. Given this information, the committee would like to inform you of the following outcomes:

• The conference will take place as originally planned, i.e. on the 23rd-25^th of September 2020. Postponing the conference to a later date is likely to result in similar problems (particularly with the possibility of a second infection wave)
• The conference committee would like to allow all authors the possibility to participate in the conference, even if attendance in person might not be possible. This leads to two possible scenarios:
  1. 1. An online format, i.e. participation in the conference is virtual, using an online platform
     2. A hybrid format, i.e. a mixture of both, attendance in person and online participation
• The conference committee has decided to opt for the hybrid format. To achieve this, however, requires a better understanding of how many people would attend the conference in person.  At this point we would need to be confident of a minimum number of attendees to justify the organisation of such an event.
• In this context, we would like to ask all authors to please inform us of whether you intend to attend the conference in Graz in person, or whether you would prefer to attend online. When you upload the paper, you will be asked to provide this information. Please note that the answer is not binding, however it will help us in planning the event.
• We request that conference participants who are not authors, provide their attendance details via the following link www.fbr.io/bausim2020p - please avoid entering this information more than once
• After the final upload on the 8^th July, the conference committee will decide whether a hybrid format is viable or whether an online format is the preferred way forward.
• Conference registration will commence on the 10^th of July 2020. Note that registration fees will vary based on whether you are attending in person (and with or without the conference dinner) or online. We will also provide a one-month early bird registration period.

We apologise for any inconvenience that this procedure may cause you. However, the conference committee are keen to respond to requests to allow the hybrid attendance format. By following this procedure, we hope to respond in a better way to those who will be making the effort to travel to Graz. Note that online participation will be possible in any eventuality.