THE WORLD’S 50 Best said it will move its annual restaurant awards ceremony from Moscow to London in an announcement just hours after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the levying of new sanctions.

The event is scheduled for July. The new plans were revealed Thursday last week on Twitter.

The move comes as the US, the European Union and others simultaneously ratchet up sanctions against the Kremlin and Russian oligarchs seen as benefitting from the policies of Vladimir Putin, who announced his decision to attack Ukraine last week. A spokesperson for Worlds 50 Best declined to provide more details on its decision.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is organized by William Reed Business Media, which is based in the UK. It’s famous for crowning restaurants with the title of No. 1 in the world.  In 2021, the organization named Noma in Copenhagen the top restaurant, based on votes of restaurateurs, chefs, and food writers. The restaurant had won the award four times before. — Bloomberg