There’s talk of a smaller version of Coachella for next year April.
After being moved out from April to October, Coachella has officially been canceled along with the country festival Stagecoach. This quells any hope of music or sporting events taking place in 2020, as they fall into the last stage of Governor Gavin Newsom’s four-step re-opening plan.
The announcement came on Wednesday from Riverside County’s public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser due to the ongoing risks associated with COVID-19. The order states that both festivals will be off until next year at the earliest. This will mark the first year without a Coachella festival taking place since 2000.
Billboard recently reported that AEG (the parent company of Coachella’s promoter Goldenvoice) will be laying off 15% of its workforce, furloughing more than 100 employees across multiple divisions at the company and initiating hefty pay cuts in order to survive. Goldenvoice is currently weighing up a limited-capacity return in April 2021 or an even bigger return in October. Currently, event officials are waiting for more information on the pandemic’s trajectory to guide their decision.
Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean were all slated to headline this year’s event, but there has been no comment on whether the lineup would change for the eventual comeback. Given the financial setbacks, the lineup may be signally impacted.
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