Coachella and Stagecoach cancelled

11 June 2020

Coachella 2020 has been cancelled.

Coachella would-be headliners Rage Against the Machine

The annual music extravaganza, along with country festival Stagecoach, had both been due to take place in Indio, California, in April but were delayed until October due to the coronavirus pandemic and local officials have now confirmed the two events will be scrapped entirely amid fears of a second wave of the virus.

Riverside County health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser said: "I am concerned as indications grow that COVID-19 could worsen in the fall.

"In addition, events like Coachella and Stagecoach would fall under Governor Newsom's Stage 4, which he has previously stated would require treatments or a vaccine to enter. Given the projected circumstances and potential, I would not be comfortable moving forward.

"These decisions are not taken lightly with the knowledge that many people will be impacted. My first priority is the health of the community."

The order from the public health department explained it would likely be "impossible" to track any outbreak that went through the festivals, both of which attract fans from across the globe.

It read: "This Order recognises that both the Coachella Music and Arts Festival and the Stagecoach Country Music Festival are music concerts and gatherings of an international scope, attracting hundreds of thousand of attendees from many countries, including several disproportionately afflicted by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

"If COVID-19 were detected at these festivals, the scope and number of attendees and the nature of the venue would make it infeasible, if not impossible, to track those who may be placed at risk."

According to Billboard, Goldenvoice - a subsidiary of AEG which organises both festivals - are currently looking into options of either staging Coachella in its usual April slot next year, but in a limited capacity, or wait until October 2021 for a larger event.

Artists who had been due to perform at Coachella included Rage Against the Machine, Megan Thee Stallion, Run the Jewels, Calvin Harris, Travis Scott, Thom Yorke, 21 Savage, Fatboy Slim, Danny Elfman, Frank Ocean, Lana Del Rey, Lil Nas X, and FKA Twigs.