Coachella officially postpones 6 months over coronavirus concerns

After being petitioned by the community to cancel and speculation of a 6-month postponement, Coachella has officially confirmed they’re shifting the event.

Set to take place across two weekends April 10-12 and April 17-19 in Indio, California, the annual festival will now occur Oct. 9-11 and Oct. 16-18. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency after California confirmed its first coronavirus case March 4, and now local health authorities have advised Coachella to postpone.

Read more: SXSW makes big staff cuts, but the hustle never ends for small bands

Rage Against The Machine, Bishop Briggs, YUNGBLUD, Code Orange, Lil Nas X, Kim Petras, PUP, the Regrettes, 21 Savage, Danny Elfman, Swae Lee, Carly Rae Jepsen, Snail Mail, Emo Nite and more were set to perform at Coachella across the two weekends.

Goldenvoice also operates country festival Stagecoach on the same grounds as Coachella, which has also shifted from April to October. You can read the official announcement regarding both festivals below.

At the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities, we must sadly confirm the rescheduling of Coachella and Stagecoach due to COVID-19 concerns. While this decision comes at a time of universal uncertainty, we take the safety and health of our guests, staff and community very seriously. We urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials.

Coachella will now take place on October 9, 10 and 11 and October 16, 17 and 18, 2020. Stage Coach will take place on October 23, 24 and 25, 2020. All purchases for the April dates will be honored for the rescheduled October dates. Purchasers will be notified by Friday, March 13 on how to obtain a refund if they are unable to attend.

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you in the desert this fall.

More on coronavirus

On Dec. 31, 2019, several cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, China were reported to the World Health Organization. Wild animals sold at The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market were believed to be the source, so the business was closed by health authorities. Chinese scientists later suggested through a study that it was imported from elsewhere.

On Jan. 7, authorities identified it as the coronavirus or COVID-19. Four days later, the first death was confirmed in China. By Jan. 22, there are 547 confirmed cases in the country. China has since reached 80,552 confirmed cases and more than 3,000 deaths.

On Jan. 30, the first person in the United States was confirmed to be infected by person-to-person transmission in Illinois. Since then, more than 225 coronavirus cases have been confirmed across the U.S. with 12 deaths as of Thursday. The House passed $8 billion in emergency funding to fight the virus Thursday.

Read more: Ozzy Osbourne cancels SXSW appearance due to coronavirus concerns

On Feb. 24, Marilyn Manson was among the first to cancel a trip to Asia with Live Nation revealing the shock rocker’s highly-anticipated performance at Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo on March 18 was no longer happening. While neither Manson nor Live Nation released an official reason for the cancelation, it’s assumed it’s related to coronavirus concerns.

Four days later, Green Day postponed their Asian tour. Set to embark out on the Hella Mega tour in support of their latest album Father Of All…, the leg would’ve have taken them through Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and a few other notable dates.

Since then, Avril Lavigne, Set It Off, YUNGBLUD and Slipknot have also canceled their tours to Asia. Miami’s Ultra Music Festival postponed to 2021, and a petition to cancel SXSW began as corporate sponsors and artists such as Ozzy Osbourne and Trent Reznor pull appearances. The festival officially canceled the following day. Thursday night, the fourth person in New Zealand was diagnosed to have the coronavirus days after attending a Tool show.

Read more: Disney postpones ‘Mulan’ China release date due to coronavirus concerns

Concerns over the virus have also affected the film industry. Disney made the decision to postpone the live-action Mulan release date in China after nearly 70,000 theaters were closed. The next installment in the James Bond franchise, No Time To Die, was set to open April 10 but has since shifted worldwide to November.

Currently, there isn’t a vaccine to prevent COVID-19, but the Center For Disease Control has shared some preventive measures. These include staying home when you’re sick and avoiding close contact with others who are ill. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, and cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and discard immediately.