2021 BAFTA postponed over coronavirus

The 2021 edition of the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) ceremony has been postponed, following a similar move by the Oscars.

The organizers said the next year’s edition of the BAFTA will take place on April 11, 2021, instead of February 14.

The move comes after Hollywood decided to push back the 93rd Academy Awards to April due to the coronavirus crisis.

The BAFTA is usually held a week or two before the Oscars.

Film committee Chair Marc Samuelson said the new date would “give all films the best possible chance to be released and considered properly.”

Movie theaters across Britain have been shut down since March 20 as part of a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

The flu-like deadly virus first emerged in China in late 2019 and has now infected more than 8.3 million people and killed over 447,000 across the world.

SQ/MG