All three lead World Cup events in July have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Competition was scheduled to take place in Villars in Switzerland and in Chamonix and Briançon in France. 

A deadline to decide on these events was set for May 1, but it became clear that competition would not be able to go ahead after French President Emmanuel Macron extended the national ban on large public gatherings until the middle of July.

"In my mind I have pictures of the many, many fans attending our competitions in Switzerland and France, and my heart is bleeding," IFSC President Marco Scolaris said.

"Next July, they won’t be able to cheer for their heroes. 

"And this proves how much we still have to commit ourselves to protect each other in order to recover as quickly as possible and be able to go climbing again. 

"For the moment, we move step by step and we keep the faith - better days will come."

Boulder World Cup events, including those in Meiringen in Switzerland, Wujiang and Chongqing in China, Seoul in South Korea, Munich in Germany and Innsbruck in Austria, have also been postponed to a later date.

A decision about the IFSC Youth World Championships in Voronezh in Russia, provisionally scheduled in August, is due to be taken by June 1. 

The European Championships in Moscow have also officially been moved to October 1 to 8.

Competition was initially supposed to take place from March 20 to 27 and had then been moved to the June, before the pandemic forced a second postponement. 

It will still award two quota places for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, rescheduled to July 23 to August 8 in 2021.

"I’m sure the International Olympic Committee won’t mind if I borrow their motto for a moment - hope lights our way," Scolaris said. 

"Despite the fact that we live on a day-by-day basis, it is important to keep working for the future, in order to be ready when better days will come. 

"The new dates of the European Championships are definitely a sign of hope and no surrender."