Coachella is Officially Canceled

This highly anticipated festival will take a gap year for the first time in 20 years.

It’s official — the highly anticipated festival, Coachella, announced that it is canceled for the entirety of 2020. This year, the festival initially featured headliners like Frank Ocean, Travis Scott, and Rage Against the Machine.

Back in March, the festival’s organizers announced that Coachella would be postponed from its original dates in March until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the event’s promoter Goldenvoice has yet to make an announcement, public health officials now say that Coachella and its sister festival Stagecoach have been canceled for 2020.

Public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser said in a statement that, “I am concerned as indications grow that COVID-19 could worsen in the fall, [and] these decisions are not taken lightly with the knowledge that many people will be impacted. My first priority is the health of the community.”

Coachella will take a gap year for the first time since 2000. The festival usually draws around 125,000 attendees each day over two weekends, making an estimate of $100 million a year. There’s no doubt that this gap year will negatively impact the valley’s tourism industry. While the world is slowly and cautiously reopening, it is uncertain how the future of concerts will look like as it would have to enforce social distancing. It is even reported that concerts might have to limit its capacity to adjust to this “new normal.”

Fans have already expressed their thoughts on Twitter, with some fans disappointed to not see their favorite artists this year. Others said that they’re relieved to take a break from the festival’s “Instagrammable” culture.

 

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