Leaders of the World Economic Forum say their annual gathering, usually held in the Alpine resort of Davos in Switzerland is being postponed again because of “the international challenges in containing the pandemic”.

The forum, which staged a virtual Davos Agenda meeting last month, says the in-person event this year will take place in Singapore from August 17 to 20 and not May 25 to 28 as previously planned.

“Current global travel restrictions have made planning difficult for an in-person meeting for the first half of the year,” a forum statement said, alluding to quarantine and air transportation rules that have made travel plans more complex.

It marks the latest change of plans for the elite gathering of government leaders, business executives, civil society advocates and artists, actors and musicians.

Because of Covid concerns, the event usually held in January was first postponed to May and scheduled for the Swiss city of Lucerne, before the venue was moved to Singapore that same month.