x

The latest industry news to your inbox.


I'd like to hear about marketing opportunities

    

I accept IQ Magazine's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

news

Download, Isle of Wight Festival 2020 cancelled

The UK summer stalwarts, both of which were scheduled for the second week of June, have followed Glastonbury in calling off 2020 altogether

By IQ on 26 Mar 2020

Kiss were Download's Friday-night headliners

Kiss were Download's Friday-night headliners


image © KissBoy25/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Live Nation UK’s Download and Isle of Wight Festival have become the latest high-profile festivals to cancel their 2020 editions, with both announcing this morning (26 March) they would not go ahead this year.

Metal festival Download, held at Donington Park in Leicestershire, was to have featured headline slots from Kiss (Friday 12 June), Iron Maiden (13 June) and System of a Down (14 June) with other performers including Deftones, Korn, Volbeat, Alter Bridge, the Offspring, the Darkness and Disturbed.

Isle of Wight Festival (11–14 June), meanwhile, had booked Lionel Richie, Lewis Capaldi, Snow Patrol, Chemical Brothers, Kaiser Chiefs, Sam Fender and more.

In a statement, Festival Republic-promoted Download says: “We’ve been closely monitoring this unprecedented situation [coronavirus] and it’s become clear that it just isn’t possible for the 2020 festival to go ahead.

“This decision hasn’t been taken lightly and we’re beyond disappointed”

“This decision hasn’t been taken lightly and we’re beyond disappointed, we extend our heartfelt apologies to all of you – we really did try to make this work.”

It’s a similar sentiment from Isle of Wight, whose statement says organisers “tried our hardest to make it work, but it was unavoidable given the current status. The whole team was excited to welcome everyone to the island for another fantastic festival and we extend our sincere apologies to everyone who was looking forward to it as much as we were.”

The cancellations follow that of fellow UK summer institution Glastonbury Festival, as well as a slew of postponements in the US.

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.