The Cannes Film Festival, originally scheduled to be held between 11 and 22 May, "will certainly take place in 2021," a spokeswoman said, but may have to be postponed to sometime between the end of June and the end of July.
The festival was cancelled last year, while rival European events in Berlin and Venice went ahead under strict health restrictions.
Cannes' organisers say they still need some time "to evaluate the situation at the start of the year" before making a decision, the Cannes spokeswoman added.
Two bites at Berlin
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.
In 2019, Cannes' coveted Golden Palm or Palme d'Or was awarded to South Korean film Parasite by Bong Joon-ho, which went on to win the first Best Foreign Picture Oscar at the Hollywood Academy Awards.
The Cannes festival attracts some 45,000 people with official accreditation every year, of whom around 4,500 are journalists.
Its Film Market, held alongside the main competition, is the industry's biggest marketplace for producers, distributors, buyers and programmers.
