Alarms Raised for Cannes Festival as French Government Extends Gatherings Ban to May 31

The news was inevitable but the 2020 Cannes Film Festival has been postponed from mid-May until late June, early July, according to an official release from organisers. The news comes after the French government banned public gatherings of more than 100 people late last week.

When it comes to film festivals, everyone follows Cannes’ lead, which is why it’s curious that the influential French event, originally scheduled to unspool from May 12-23 this year, waited more than a full week after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic — and two weeks after the French government banned public gatherings through the end of May — to announce that it would not take place as originally planned.

Over the last 73 years, the Cannes Film Festival has often been billed as the world’s biggest and most glamorous celebration of the movies. But this year, it was poised to make history.

The 2020 edition of the Cannes Film Festival has been postponed by the organizers owing to the Coronavirus crisis which has gripped almost every country in the world. Speculations were already rife about the prestigious film festival getting canceled in the wake of COVID 19 scare due to the fear of infection and now the reports have turned out to be true. The mega event was originally scheduled to be held from May 12 to May 23, 2020, in France.

France’s Cannes Film Festival, arguably the world’s most prestigious film festival and cinema’s largest annual gathering, has postponed its 73rd edition due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 73rd Cannes Film Festival has been postponed over coronavirus.

The coronavirus has led to the Cannes film festival to call off this year's event as scheduled in May.The world's most prestigious film festival made it official, announcing that its 2020 edition would not take place as planned in late May due to fears of infection connected to the continuing spread of the coronavirus in Europe.The official festival account tweeted, "Due to the health crisis and the development of the French and international situation, the Festival de Cannes will no longer be

The Cannes Film Festival has officially been canned by the coronavirus.

The Cannes Film Festival has been postponed.

By Nancy Tartaglione

The Cannes Lions festival of creativity is the latest victim of the coronavirus pandemic. The event is now postponed from June 22-26 to the previously announced contingency dates of Oct. 26-30, the organizers said on Wednesday.

By Andreas Wiseman

The Cannes International Film Festival has denied French media reports that claim this year's festival will be canceled due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. An article in weekly news magazine Le Point, published Saturday, quoted a member of the film festival's board of directors saying it would be "very difficult if not impossible" to hold this year's event given the growing crisis surrounding the coronavirus and the drastic government measures taken to combat it.

The Cannes Film Festival has released a statement following the new measures taken by the French government to restrict gatherings for more than 100 people.

Unlike in Italy and Belgium, French theaters will remain open in spite of a ban on gatherings for more than 100 people, according to a spokesperson of the FNCF, France’s national exhibitors org.

Following the shutdown of schools and universities announced by France President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, the French prime minister has now banned gatherings for more than 100 people to contain the outbreak of Coronavirus in the country.

By Andreas Wiseman