The international development umbrella body Bond has cancelled its annual conference because of the growing coronavirus pandemic.
The event, which was due to take place on 23 and 24 March, was cancelled on government advice, Bond said.
About 1,000 people were due to attend the two-day conference, including the international development secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
Bond said ticket holders would be refunded.
The Bond International Development Awards would take place digitally, a statement from Bond said.
About 120,000 people are officially believed to have contracted the virus since it first emerged in Wuhan, China, in January, and spread across the world, including to the UK.
The government said 460 people in the UK had been diagnosed with Covid-19 as of 9am on Wednesday.
The World Health Organisation yesterday declared Covid-19 to be a pandemic.
Stephanie Draper, chief executive of Bond, said: “The wellbeing of everyone who takes part in the Bond conference is our priority. Having carefully followed the regular guidance and advice from Public Health England and the UK government we feel this is a necessary precaution.
“Because the conference provides a key opportunity to connect with others to share and debate pressing development issues affecting the NGO sector, we are looking at other ways to take these discussions further.”