The 2022 festival was re-scheduled to take place over Easter from April 22 to May 1 as an open-air event in Victoria Square and The Commons.
However, Strut & Fret director and festival director, Scott Maidment, said on Wednesday the event "could only take place under orange or green settings and the ongoing uncertainty regarding when traffic lights will change prevents us from delivering a successful event for all artists and stakeholders involved".
There were 2859 new community Covid cases across the Canterbury area on Tuesday.
"We had great expectations for the event after the festival reimagined itself in 2021 to deliver an incredibly successful ‘Backyard Buskers Festival’ celebrating the local industry," Maidment said.
"While we are incredibly disappointed not to be able to deliver a festival in 2022, we can’t wait to get stuck into planning the 2023 return of Christchurch’s beloved event and celebrating our 30th anniversary."
He said the arts and entertainment industry "have been battling internationally for the past two years".
"But we look forward to bringing a revitalised version of this excellent event back to Christchurch in 2023."
Festival organisers thanked the event partners, suppliers, artists and staff who had "worked extensively on this event since the January 2021 festival".
Karena Finnie, ChristchurchNZ head of major events, said the city's economic development agency supports the Government’s health-lead approach to Covid-19. Finnie said it was in the interest of public safety to wait until January 2023 to present the event.
"We have worked hard to bring Bread & Circus to Ōtautahi Christchurch this year but ultimately the current Omicron wave across New Zealand has made it impossible," Finnie said.
The World Buskers Festival in 2023 will mark the event's 30th anniversary.
