Zurich, Due to the suspension of all international sporting events in China amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Diamond League meeting in Shanghai has been cancelled.

"Following the decision taken by the National Administration of Sports to suspend all international sporting events until next year, we are sorry to announce that the 2020 Shanghai Diamond League will not go ahead as planned on 19th September," Diamond League said in a statement.

The meeting will return next year, taking its traditional place as one of the early-season events in the Diamond League calendar.

The 2020 Diamond League will not be a structured series of events leading to a final as is usually the case. Athletes will therefore not earn Diamond League points this season, and there will not be a single, 24-discipline final in Zurich as originally planned.

Six competitive meetings are currently scheduled to go ahead between August 14 and October 17.

On Thursday, British Athletics had announced that the Diamond League meeting, due to be held in Gateshead on September 12, was cancelled.

Diamond League meetings in London, Rabat, Zurich, Paris and Eugene have already been cancelled following the outbreak of novel coronavirus which has wreaked havoc across the world.