World Economic Forum cancels 2021 annual meeting in Singapore

The World Economic Forum has cancelled its annual meeting to discuss the world's problems due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The World Economic Forum has cancelled its annual meeting - the blue-ribbon event for the global elite to discuss the world's problems - due to be held in Singapore this year, the organisers said on Monday. The COVID-19 pandemic meant it was not possible to hold such a large event as planned on Aug. 17-20, they said. "Regretfully, the tragic circumstances unfolding across geographies, an uncertain travel outlook, differing speeds of vaccination roll out and the uncertainty around new variants combine to make it impossible to realise a global meeting with business, government and civil society leaders from all over the world at the scale which was planned," the WEF said in a statement. The event, which attracts VIPs from the worlds of politics and business, has been held since 1971.