MIPIM global property convention postponed

Event that was expected to attract 23,000 attendees pushed back until June

Atendees gather at the 2019 Mipim event in Cannes. Organiser Reed Exhibitions announced on Saturday that this year's event will be postponed until early June. Image courtesy of Reed Exhibitions.

An annual global property convention that takes place in Cannes each year has been postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The Mipim convention run by Reed Exhibitions was scheduled to run from March 10-13, but has now been rescheduled to June 2-5 2020, organisers said in a statement on Saturday.

“The well-being of our clients and staff is our priority. Given the evolving context, the best course of action is to postpone MIPIM to June,” said Paul Zilk, chief executive of Reed MIDEM, part of Reed Exhibitions.

Mipim attracts many of the property world's biggest investors and fund managers. About 23,000 people were expected to attend this year's event and former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was due to give a keynote address.

On Friday, organisers had issued a statement saying the event would go ahead as planned, stating that "as of today, more than 90 per cent of exhibitors remain committed to attend".

However, a number of high-profile attendees, including consultancies Knight Frank and Cushman and Wakefield, had taken the decision to withdraw and on Saturday the event's postponement was confirmed.

“This is not a decision we have taken lightly," Mr Zilk said. " We believe these new dates will provide the international Mipim community with the opportunity to achieve their business objectives. We are grateful to our clients for their support and constructive input during this challenging period, and we look forward to talking with them in the coming days about Mipim in June,” he added.