Two of the biggest music festivals in South California, US – Coachella and Stagecoach – have both been canceled for 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the public health officer of Riverside County, California released the cancellation order on Wednesday evening.
However, the events’ promoter, Goldenvoice, was yet to make a public announcement regarding to cancellation, as at the time of filing this report.
Goldenvoice had in March announced that both Coachella and Stagecoach originally scheduled to hold in April would be delayed until October.
The order from Dr. Kaiser has now warned of a possible spike in COVID-19 infections, hence the need for a cancellation.
He noted that the festivals attract hundreds of thousands of attendees from many countries and that if an outbreak occur at Coachella or Stagecoach, it would be ‘impossible to track those who may be at risk.’
The festivals which host thousands of people were expected to feature top performers from different countries.
Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean were scheduled to headline Coachella, along with performances by Calvin Harris, Big Sean, Lewis Capaldi, Charlie XCX, Flume, 21 Savage, Lana Del Rey and Lil Nas X.
Afrobeat singer and saxophonist, Seun Kuti was also scheduled to performer, as the only Nigerian for the 2020 show.
Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood and Eric Church had been set to headline Stagecoach.
According to the public health officer;
These decisions are not taken lightly with the knowledge that many people will be impacted. My first priority is the health of the community.
It is however uncertain whether the widely attended festivals would be rescheduled till April next year – the month in which they traditionally take place.
Nearly 600,000 tickets were sold for the 2019 edition of Coachella, which was held across two consecutive weekends, which featured Nigerian artistes – Mr Eazi and Burna Boy.
Coachella and Stagecoach are the latest in the string of events that have been postponed or canceled over coronavirus fears.
Notting Hill Carnival, Glastonbury festival were cancelled, while the Tokyo Olympics was postponed till 2021.
