The organisers of the world-renowned Venice architecture biennale have announced that the opening will be postponed, quoting the precautionary measures against the coronavirus outbreak taken by the Italian government.

The biennale was originally scheduled to kick off on 23 May but has now been moved to 29 August.

It will close on its original closing date, 29 November.

The organisers revealed on the biennale's website that the event involves architects and institutions from over 60 countries on all continents and that insisting on the original opening date would definitely see numerous absences by creators, which would jeopardise the event's quality.

"A short-term postponement could 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," read the statement.

In its 17th edition this year, the Venice architecture biennale is one of the world's biggest and most significant in international architectural exhibition.

This year, the biennale is curated by Lebanese architect and scholar Hashim Sarkis.

The biennale's theme is 'How will we live together?’

Italy has seen a major outbreak of the new coronavirus in recent weeks, and has now confirmed more than 3,000 cases. All schools and universities have been shut in an attempt to contain the epidemic.

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