Red carpet cancelled for 'Mulan' London premiere

The European premiere of the new Disney movie was scaled down with no media line-up or red carpet and the cast only posing for photographers indoors.

Disney on Thursday (March 12) cancelled the red carpet premiere of the new live action movie "Mulan" in London.

The European premiere of the movie in London's Leicester Square was scaled down "in an abundance of caution", organisers said.

The cinema screening of the film still went ahead, with the cast and crew doing a photo-call indoors, and guests passing through a "hand sanitation station" before entering the venue.

Leicester Square is a popular spot for major film premieres, where stars are cheered by fans and walk the red carpet before going into the cinema.

Thousands of people filled the square for the premiere of "Star Trek" in January this year.

Thursday evening's premiere of Mulan - a $200 million live action remake of Disney's animated classic - was expected to draw hundreds of people to see stars such as Yifei Liu, Yoson An and Jason Scott Lee.

But the red carpet and media line-up were abruptly cancelled on Thursday just hours in advance.

Fears over the rapid spread of the latest coronavirus have led to the cancellation of concerts and sports events across the globe, such as the Indian Wells tennis tournament and the Coachella music festival, and have raised questions about whether the Tokyo Olympic Games should go ahead.

Hollywood studio executives are also keeping a close watch.

Cinemas in China, the world's second largest film market, are closed indefinitely.

"Mulan" was tailored to appeal especially to the Chinese market.

The story features a Chinese heroine and an all-Asian cast and parts were filmed in China.