The Cannes Film Festival will not take place this year due to the coronavirus. The organizers first postponed the festival last month, saying that they would aim to stage it in June or July this year. But in an updated statement, they said that plan was now “no longer an option” after France extended its lockdown measures this week. They did not elaborate on what the alternatives could be but said they hoped “to communicate promptly”.

The prestigious festival was originally scheduled to take place in the south of France from 12th to 23rd May. When the festival was first postponed, its president, Pierre Lescure, said he was “reasonably optimistic” it would still go ahead this year.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said the country’s lockdown would be extended until 11th May, and that public events could not be held until mid-July at the earliest.