Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Coachella(INDIO, CA) — California’s Riverside County has officially canceled Coachella 2020.
The annual Indio, California festival had originally been scheduled for this past April before being postponed to this coming October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Headliners included the reunited Rage Against the Machine, Frank Ocean and Travis Scott.
In a press release, Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser says, “I am concerned as indications grow that COVID-19 could worsen in the fall.”
“Events like Coachella…would fall under [California] Governor [Gavin] Newsom’s Stage 4, which he has previously stated would require treatments or a vaccine to enter,” Dr. Kaiser says. “Given the projected circumstances and potential, I would not be comfortable moving forward.”
Earlier this week, Billboard reported that Coachella and its producer Goldenvoice were contemplating whether to plan for a “limited-capacity return” next April, or a “larger, higher capacity” festival in October 2021.
As of Thursday morning, neither Coachella nor Goldenvoice has made a public statement about the cancellation.
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