Mr Gay World 2020 has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement to the press, Mr Eric Butter, president of the Mr Gay World competition, said, "We have been following global health organisations, reputable media sources and also national health departments worldwide before making this decision."
Managing director of Els Event Architects, Johann Els, the appointed events & production company of this year's Mr Gay World, added, "We have agreed that it would be best to postpone this event to a more suitable date so that we may have a fuller representation from all countries involved."
The event seems to be following the decision of many others, such as the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, AfrikaBurn and the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival, that have released statements either postponing or cancelling the gatherings altogether.
This as, according to the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), the virus is thought to spread between people who are in close contact with one another through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Large gatherings could therefore easily spread the virus, so locally and globally decisions are being made to halt shows, festivals and productions.
"With many member countries in lockdown and most governments banning or in the process of banning events and gatherings of people, we have had to take the unfortunate decision to rather postpone the event to a later date for the safety of our members, delegates, their friends and families and also to do our part in stopping the spread of the coronavirus," the statement continued.