DUBAI  - The World Expo awarding body is to formally approve a one-year postponement of Expo 2020 Dubai after more than two-thirds of member states voted in favour of the delay, the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) said on Monday.

Expo is a major business and cultural event held every five years in cities around the world selected by the Paris-based BIE.

The United Arab Emirates in March proposed postponing the 2020 event by a year, after participating countries asked for a delay due to the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus. 

The BIE said in a statement the required consent of two-thirds of its 170 member states to postpone Expo 2020 Dubai had been surpassed, and that it was not set to approve the delay.

A statement by Expo 2020 Dubai, citing BIE Secretary General Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, said the BIE would formally approve the postponement on May 29.

Expo 2020 Dubai is now set to take place from October 1, 2021 until March 31, 2022, roughly a year later than initially planned.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, editing by Louise Heavens) ((Alexander.Cornwell@thomsonreuters.com;))