Cannes Film Festival Postponed due to Coronavirus Outbreak

The annual International Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival has postponed its 73rd edition due to the coronavirus pandemic. Organizers announced that the festival will no longer be taking place this May due to the coronavirus. The festival might now take place either in late June or early July.

“Several hypotheses are being studied to preserve the festival, the main one of which would be a simple postponement,” the organizers of the festival said in a statement. “As soon as the development of the French and international health situation will allow us to assess the real possibility, we will make our decision known.”

Reportedly, the organizers had been extremely reluctant to cancel Cannes. For weeks, its organizers deflected questions and tried to push through its selection process. But as the pandemic spread through France, it became all but inevitable that a massive gathering like Cannes would be cancelled.

"At this time of global health crisis, our thoughts go to the victims of the Covid-19 and we express our solidarity with all of those who are fighting the disease," the festival’s organizers said.

Other major film festivals, including South by Southwest and the Tribeca Film Festival, have already been postponed. On Saturday, the Prime Minister of France Édouard Philippe ordered the closure of all restaurants, cafes and cinemas in France to increase social distancing and combat the virus.

France currently has more than 2,200 cases, and there have been more than 245,000 cases of Covid-19 reported worldwide. More than 10,000 have died from the disease while 88,000 have fully recovered.