Movies

Cannes chief says film festival could be cancelled if coronavirus situation doesn’t improve


Taron Egerton with Elton John and Dexter Fletcher at Cannes Film Festival (Picture: Getty)

Cannes Film Festival President Pierre Lescure says the event could be cancelled this year if the coronavirus situation in France does not improve.

The annual film festival is set to take place this May.

Lescure, in an interview with Le Figaro, said that he is remaining ‘optimistic’ that the situation might improve by April, but is prepared to axe the whole thing if that doesn’t turn out to be the case.

Admitting things are up in the air at the moment, he said: ‘But we remain reasonably optimistic in the hope that the peak of the epidemic will be reached at the end of March and that we will breathe a little better in April.

‘But we are not oblivious. If not, we will cancel.’

France has banned gatherings of more than 1000 people in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.

Cannes could be cancelled amid the coronavirus outbreak (Picture: Getty Images)

A Cannes spokesperson previously told The Guardian: ‘Nothing has changed our end. The festival staff are currently working.

‘The festival heads are liasing with the city hall of Cannes and the prefecture, and will take all the mandatory measures to follow the legislation.’

Meanwhile music festival Coachella, meant to take place in April in the US, has been delayed to October over health and safety concerns.

Announcing the news in a statement, promoter GoldenVoice said on Tuesday: ‘At the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities, we must sadly confirm the rescheduling of Coachella and Stagecoach due to COVID-19 concerns.

‘While this decision comes at a time of universal uncertainty, we take the safety and health of our guests, staff and community very seriously. We urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials.

‘Coachella will now take place on October 9, 10 and 11 and October 16, 17 and 18, 2020.’

UK music festival Glastonbury is ‘working closely’ with Public Health England and the NHS ahead of this year’s event, set for June with the likes of Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift and Diana Ross on the lineup.

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