Dubai, Apr 21 (AP) A world body on Tuesday tentatively approved Dubai's request to move its Expo 2020 world's fair to next year over the coronavirus pandemic.

The Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions' executive committee said its member states will vote on the proposal to move the event to October 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022. It expects a final vote count by May 29.

The proposal requires a two-thirds approval, but given the disruption caused by the virus worldwide, it appears likely to easily pass. The bureau's executive committee voted unanimously to back the proposal.

“I am confident when the time is right, Expo 2020 Dubai will constitute the best platform to build, with renewed optimism and hope, a better and brighter future for all,” bureau secretary-general Dimitri S. Kerkentzes said in a statement.

Dubai, a sheikhdom in the United Arab Emirates, has bet billions of dollars on the event to rejuvenate its troubled economy. This skyscraper-studded city won the rights to host the event in 2014. That helped boost Dubai's crucial real-estate market and had officials hoping for more tourists in this city-state that is home to the world's busiest airport for international travel.

Now, the pandemic has grounded flights by Dubai's long-haul carrier Emirates, jeopardized global tourism and caused further panic in a real-estate market already down by a third since the 2014 announcement. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)