Boris Johnson isn’t going to Cannes property bash Mipim this year
Boris Johnson won't attend property knees-up Mipim this year, for the first time during his tenure as mayor of London.
Boris has traditionally been a vocal proponent of London's many development opportunities at the conference, for which 20,000 developers, investors, agents and civil servants descend on Cannes for a week of deal-making and revelry each year.
But in the run-up to the General Election, it looks like campaigning will prevent him from putting in an appearance.
A spokesman for the Greater London Authority (GLA) said his absence was "literally down to his massive diary pressures".
However, the GLA will send a delegation including deputy mayor for policy and planning Sir Edward Lister, and Richard Blakeway, deputy mayor for housing, land and property.
Johnson has garnered criticism for his attendance at the property fair, at which property developers hold parties on yachts to woo investors.
In October, Mipim's London-based cousin, Mipim UK, was blockaded by protesters who accused him of "selling out" London to foreign investors.
But at the conference in March last year, Johnson told developers to make a new deal to sell London homes "to Londoners first".