Festival goers hoping to get down in the Californian desert next month will now have to wait a few months. Local health authorities urged the event’s organizer, Goldenvoice, to postpone Coachella 2020 until October, due to concerns over the recent COVID-19, or Coronavirus outbreak. According to the organizer, they hope to retain the majority of the performers originally slated to play, including headliners Rage Against The Machine and Frank Ocean, among others. “While this decision comes at a time of universal uncertainty, we take the safety and health of our guests, staff and community very seriously,” Goldenvoice said in a statement. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival is one of the most high profile music festivals in the US, attracting a high number of celebrity attendees and perhaps influencing the serious attention given to the cancellation of the event. Travis Scott, Calvin Harris and Lana Del Rey were among the hundreds of acts slated to perform. Instead of next month, Coachella is now scheduled for the weekends of the 9th, 10th and 11th of October and the 16th, 17th and 18th of October. This isn’t the only major music festival to be cancelled or postponed over Coronavirus concerns. Country music festival Stagecoach was also postponed, while the arts festival South By Southwest in Austin, Texas was called off for the first time in its 34 year history after an order given by the city’s mayor. Coachella had almost 250,000 attendees last year, while more than 70,000 people went to Stagecoach, giving health officials significant cause for concern as illness begins to spread.
