The yearly international property fair MIPIM originally scheduled for March 10-13 in Cannes, France, has been postponed until June 2-5 due to growing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. "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, the organiser of the MIPIM event, in a statement. "This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We believe these new dates will provide the international MIPIM community with the opportunity to achieve their business objectives." added Zilk. The MIPIM (Marche International des Professionnels de l'immobilier) is the world's leading real estate market event. It gathers the most influential players from all sectors of the international property industry for four days of networking, learning and transaction through premium events, conferences and dedicated exhibition zones. Nine Egyptian property companies – headed by Minister of Housing Assem El-Gazzar – announced earlier in February their intention to attend the MIPIM's 2020 edition. These companies are Al Ahly Sabbour, Palm Hills Developments, Mountain View, SODIC, City Edge Developments, Rooya Group, Cleopatra Real Estate Developments, Tatweer Misr, and Okoplan Consulting Engineers, a government source told Amwal Al Ghad in February. Pressure had been mounting on the show's backers to shelve the global event, which was set to attract more than 26,000 attendees to the French resort including hundreds of UK architects. Last week a raft of big names pulled out of the show including property agents Knight Frank and Cushman & Wakefield, and architects HOK and Morrow + Lorraine. Now the organisers have announced the 'world's leading property market' will be pushed back from 10-13 March to 2-5 June. France has seen a sharp rise in people testing positive for the virus this week, with Cannes reporting its first case on Thursday. So far 73 people in France have been infected, with 16 new cases reported on Saturday. Shortly after MIPIM's announcement, the French government announced a temporary ban on public gatherings of more than 5,000 people.
