The Venice Biennale is postponed until August 29, as a precautionary response to the coronavirus’ spread in Northern Italy.  

According to a statement published on the Biennale website, it states, “The new dates for the Biennale Architettura have been established as a consequence of the recent precautionary measures in the matter of mobility taken by the governments of a growing number of countries around the world, which will have a domino effect on the movement of people and works in coming weeks.”

The organisation further stated that the initial set-up phase could be hampered by the precautionary measures. 

The event was anticipated to attract approximately 250,000 visitors, from over 60 countries, but now with a shortened exhibition – the Biennale usually running for six months and now only running for three – its expected visitors might drop.

“In its statement, the organisation cited concerns over not being able to realise the exhibition in its entirety as the main motivation for the three-month postponement, saying anything less would be ineffective considering the ‘complexity of the organisational machine, the number and importance of the subjects involved and the probable absence of many of them,” according to Australian Design Review.

The event due to open on 23 May, will now open on 29 August and run through till 29 November.