The 8th Wuzhen Theater Festival will be postponed to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the organizing committee announced on Wednesday.

This year's event was originally scheduled between November 5 and 15 in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province, under the theme "Flourish."

The COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainties surrounding it could cause public safety risks, organizers said as they explained their decision to push back the annual festival to next year. No new dates were given.

Organizers stressed that hitting the pause button on the 2020 edition of the festival doesn't mean that their mission is on hold. They said that they will continue to work with art creators, drama lovers and life dreamers to create a connection between culture and life and promote exchanges within and development of dramatic arts.

"More important than our momentary regrets are our continued reverence for the theater, our understanding of each moment, our expectation of a bright future," they said.

Every year, the festival turns the eponymous water town into an outdoor stage where theater troupes and aspiring as well as established artists from around the world perform, innovate and communicate with each other and the audience.

(Cover: The Wuzhen Theater in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province, China. /CFP)