The annual January get-together of world leaders, billionaires and executives will be postponed due to health and safety concerns over COVID-19.
"The World Economic Forum will defer its Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in the light of continued uncertainty over the Omicron outbreak," the group said in a release Monday. "It is now planned for early summer."
The in-person event had been scheduled from Jan. 17-21 with the aim of addressing "economic, environmental, political and social fault-lines exacerbated by the pandemic."
Organizers say an online series of "State of the World" sessions will be held instead.
WEF said pandemic conditions had made it "extremely difficult" to stage a global in-person meeting next month, adding that the transmissibility of the omicron COVID variant and its impact on travel and mobility had made deferral necessary.
The event is held annually in Davos, a picturesque Alpine ski resort, and is regarded by many as a cornerstone of international relations. It typically draws heads of government, business executives and activists from around the world to discuss global issues — although it is often criticized for being out of touch with reality.
U.S. President Joe Biden had been expected to skip the January meeting. Former President Donald Trump attended WEF twice while in office, in 2018 and 2020. He had planned to attend in 2019 but canceled this trip due to a partial government shutdown.
