The 2020 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has officially been postponed.

The festival initially announced last week that it was exploring contingency plans to hold the festival in October, should the global conditions around the COVID-19 pandemic worsen. As of March 18, the festival announced that it is now pursuing those plans.

The new festival dates are set for Oct. 26 to 30.

Although Cannes Lions is now engaged in mitigation plans, it says it will continue to monitor the situation and has confirmed that all passes, sponsorship arrangements and bookings will roll over and remain valid.

For entrants, the Lions will be awarded during the new festival dates, and work will still be judged by global juries. The festival says it will extend deadlines and eligibility dates, with plans still being finalized. In Canada, the Young Lions competition is currently being judged.

Cannes is located less than 75 kilometres from the border of Italy, where the death toll from the virus has surpassed 2,500 — more than one-quarter of the total global count — as of March 18. As such, organizers of Cannes Lions said they consulted with public health officials, the mayoral office of Cannes and the French authorities to determine the best course of action regarding the event, which regularly attracts around 200,000 visitors (and brings in an estimated €200 million of economic benefit) to the Cannes area.