Dubai’s Expo 2020 world’s fair will be postponed to Oct. 1, 2021, over the new coronavirus pandemic, a Paris-based body behind the events said Monday.

Dubai has bet billions of dollars on Expo 2020 to rejuvenate its troubled economy. Since the pandemic grounded flights by its long-haul carrier Emirates and disrupted its real estate market, Dubai has been seeking to delay the event until next year.

The bureau’s executive committee voted unanimously in April to back the proposal, which will see the event run from Oct. 1, 2021, until March 31, 2022.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman and CEO of Emirates who also serves on Dubai’s Expo committee, welcomed the announcement in a statement.

“We are thankful to member states for their continued commitment to contributing to a World Expo in Dubai that will play a pivotal role in shaping our post-pandemic world at a time when it will be most needed,” Sheikh Ahmed said.

Now, the pandemic has jeopardized global tourism and caused further panic in a real-estate market already down by a third since the 2014 announcement.