The Cannes Film Festival has been rescheduled for July 6 to 17 -- postponed by around two months due to the ongoing virus crisis, organisers said on Wednesday. 

"As announced last autumn, the Festival de Cannes reserved the right to change its dates depending on how the global health situation developed," they said in a statement. 

"Initially scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021, the Festival will therefore now take place from Tuesday 6 to Saturday 17 July 2021."

The festival was cancelled last year, while rival European events in Berlin and Venice went ahead under strict health restrictions.

The Berlin Film Festival, which usually kicks off in February, said last month it would run this year's edition in two stages, an online offering for industry professionals in March and a public event in June.

The Cannes festival normally attracts some 45,000 people with official accreditations, of whom around 4,500 are journalists.

It had only been cancelled once before, due to the outbreak of war in 1939. 

Its Film Market, held alongside the main competition, is the industry's biggest marketplace for producers, distributors, buyers and programmers.

Last year, the festival still made an official selection of 56 films -- including the latest offerings from Wes Anderson, Francois Ozon and Steve McQueen -- allowing them to use the "Cannes official selection" label.