Australian PM advises ban on events over 500-cap.
Updated 18/3/20: Australian prime minister Scott Morrison announces a ban on “non-essential” indoor gatherings of more than 100 people, including “social activities and entertainment”, effective immediately.
The Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has advised against all “non-essential” mass gatherings of over 500 people, effective from Monday (16 March).
The announcement follows yesterday’s statement from organisers of Australian festival Byron Bay Bluesfest that the event was to go ahead as planned.
A statement released by the Bluesfest team reads: “We are now awaiting the official requirement from Federal and State authorities on Monday and will update you at that time.” Updated (16 March): Bluesfest executive chairman Peter Noble today issued a statement cancelling the festival, saying “it is obvious we will not be on this Easter. We are heartbroken as we believe we were presenting one of the best ever bills of talent for you.”
Leading Australian promoters Frontier Touring an Chugg Entertainment today issued a statement that “a number of concerts will no longer be able to proceed as scheduled”, including shows by Jimmy Eat World, Marc Rebillet, Kip Moore, Miranda Lambert and Seaforth.
“Frontier Touring and Chugg Entertainment are presently working with all artist teams to determine if dates can be rescheduled to late 2020 or early 2021,” reads the statement.
“For ticketholders, tickets will remain valid for rescheduled dates and they will be notified directly as soon as details of new dates are confirmed. Where concerts cannot be rescheduled a full refund will be available for all tickets purchased through official ticketing agencies.”
The promoters note that concerts by New Order, Gengahr and Julia Jacklin will proceed as scheduled over the weekend.
“Frontier Touring and Chugg Entertainment are presently working with all artist teams to determine if dates can be rescheduled to late 2020 or early 2021”
In Melbourne, Robbie Williams’ upcoming concert as part of TEG Dainty, Apollo World Touring and Westbrook Inc.’s World Tour series has also been called off, along with the Australian Grand Prix. The concert was to take place at the Lakeside Stadium within the Grand Prix racetrack on Saturday.
“We appreciate that this is very disappointing news for the fans due to attend the show and all ticket holders will receive a full refund and will be contacted by Ticketek shortly,” reads a statement from World Tour Melbourne and TEG Dainty.
The news follows the cancellation of Miley Cyrus’ World Tour Bushfire Relief show at the same venue earlier this week.
The Australian editions of Download Festival, set to take place in Sydney and Melbourne on 20 and 21 March, have also been cancelled.
Headliners My Chemical Romance pulled out of headline appearances at the festivals, as well as all other performances in Australia and New Zealand today, “given the current global situation”. The band have also cancelled upcoming tour dates in Japan.
“Given that this announcement has come barely eight days prior to Download Australia we will not be able to secure an alternative headliner as there is insufficient time to secure visas and arrange the other relevant logistics that are required prior to the festival,” reads a statement from organisers.
“As we are unable to deliver a complete line-up, we have very reluctantly made the decision to cancel Download Australia 2020″
“As we are unable to deliver a complete line-up to meet the standard that Download fans both expect and deserve, we have very reluctantly made the decision to cancel Download Australia 2020.”
The team says it is working with My Chemical Romance and fellow headliners Deftones “to schedule separate headline shows in Australia in 2020”, as well as with other Download acts to arrange “headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne next week”.
All ticketholders will receive a full refund via Moshtix.
In the wake of event cancellations, the Australian live performance industry has called on the government to supply a stimulus plan to support the business in the event of significant loss of trade.
“We believe it’s possible to design measures that are targeted, scalable and temporary in terms of their budgetary impact, and which could be lifted once the current public health crisis is resolved,” comments Live Performance Australia chief executive, Evelyn Richardson.
Read insurance brokers advice on navigating coronavirus-related event cancellations here.
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Download Sydney moves to new site
The organisers of the Sydney edition of Download festival have announced a change in venue for this year’s event, due to the “unique setup and infrastructure” required for the festival.
Download Australia is taking place on two consecutive days in Melbourne (20 March) and Sydney (21 March), featuring acts including My Chemical Romance, Deftones, Jimmy Eat World, Clutch and Ministry.
The Melbourne leg of the festival will be at the Showgrounds, with the Sydney day originally scheduled for Parramatta Park (60,000-cap.). However, after carrying out an independent consultation, organisers have decided to move the event to the Domain (80,000-cap.) in the Royal Botanic Gardens.
“Our friends at Parramatta Park had initially advised they could host Download 2020. However, we found that it would not be the right space to deliver the reassurance to safely present the event with the number of people attending, stages and crowd movement,” reads a statement from Download Sydney organisers.
“Patron safety is our number one priority, and to ensure the best possible experience, the event needs to be moved from Parramatta Park”
“Patron safety is our number one priority, and to ensure you have the best possible experience, the event needs to be moved from Parramatta Park.”
All current Download Sydney ticketholders will be able to use their tickets at the new venue, with further information available on the Download Australia website.
Tickets to both Download Australia events are available here, with general admission tickets costing AU$189 (US$127) plus fees.
Live Nation’s Download festival franchise has spawned previous sister events in Japan, France and Madrid.
Tickets for the 2020 edition of Download’s flagship UK event, which takes place from 12 to 14 June with headliners Kiss, Iron Maiden and System Of A Down, are available here.
Photo: Stuart Midgley/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) (cropped)
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Festival Fever: what’s in store for summer 2020
Continuing the series of 2020 line-up announcements, IQ has a look at what organisers of Parklife, OpenAir St Gallen, Rock in Rio Lisbon, Colours of Ostrava, Download Japan, Wireless Festival and Roskilde have up their sleeves for 2020.
(See the previous edition of Festival Fever here.)
Parklife
When: 13 to 15 June
Where: Heaton Park, Manchester, UK
How many: 80,000
The line-up for Manchester’s Parklife festival was announced earlier this week, with a mixture of major hip-hop, electronic and pop acts topping the bill.
Tyler the creator, Carl Cox, Jorja Smith, Hot Chip, Giggs, Bicep, Four Tet and Roisin Murphy are among artists performing on the Saturday, with Khalid, Skepta, Lewis Capaldi, Anderson Paak, Robyn, Peggy Gou, Eric Prydz and Nina Kraviz leading the charge on Sunday.
Co-founded by Sacha Lord and Sam Kandel, who also started the Manchester-based Warehouse Project club nights, Parklife is majority controlled by LN-Gaiety, following a 2016 deal.
Tickets for Parklife 2020 are available here, priced at £125 for a weekend ticket and £95 for a day pass.
A mixture of major hip-hop, electronic and pop acts top the Parklife 2020 bill
OpenAir St Gallen
When: 25 to 28 June
Where: River Sitter valley, Saint Gallen, Switzerland
How many: 30,000
Switzerland’s OpenAir St Gallen is entering its 44th year in 2020 and its first as part of the newly formed powerhouse Gadget abc Entertainment Group AG, in which CTS Eventim acquired a majority stake last week.
This year’s festival will see performances from Twenty One Pilots, the Lumineers, Alan Walker and Of Monsters and Men, as well as German acts AnnenMayKantereit, Kontra K and Deichkind.
OpenAir St Gallen received the green operations award at the 2019 European Festival Awards, with Wepromote – the joint venture between OpenAir St Gallen, Gadget Entertainment, Incognito Productions, wildpony, SummerDays Festival, Seaside Festival and Wepromote Live – taking home promoter of the year.
Tickets for OpenAir St Gallen 2020 are available here, priced at CHF 239 (£188) for a four-day ticket and CHF 77 (£61) for a single day.
Switzerland’s OpenAir St Gallen is entering its 44th year in 2020
Wireless Festival
When: 3 to 5 July
Where: Finsbury Park, London, UK
How many: 50,000
Festival Republic’s Wireless Festival is returning to London’s Finsbury Park this summer for three days of urban music, headlined by ASAP Rocky, Skepta and Meek Mill.
Within a day of announcing the line-up, all weekend tickets and single Friday and Saturday tickets had sold out.
Other artists performing at the event include Quality Control Takeover, DaBaby, Roddy Ricch, AJ Tracey, Aitch, Burna Boy and Young Thug.
The line-up announcement for Wireless’ flagship UK event came days after the billing for its German edition was revealed. ASAP Rocky will also head up the 40,000-capacity Frankfurt festival, alongside Kendrick Lamar.
Sunday tickets for Wireless London are available here for £72.50, with joint Friday and Sunday passes also still available for £137.50.
Tickets for Wireless Germany can be found here, with a weekend ticket costing €149 (£125) and a day pass priced at €79 (£67).
Within a day of announcing the line-up, all weekend tickets and single Friday and Saturday tickets had sold out
Colours of Ostrava
When: 15 to 18 July
Where: Dolní Vítkovice, Ostrava, Czech Republic
How many: 45,000
Czech Republic’s Colours of Ostrava festival is this year featuring acts including the Killers, Twenty One Pilots, Martin Garrix, the Lumineers, Sigrid, LP and Youssou N’Dour.
The festival, which takes place in the industrial area of a former mining site in the Czech city, hosts acts over two dozen outdoor and indoor stages, as well as providing a programme of cinema, theatre, literature and art.
The Colours of Ostrava team also organises the free Festival v ulicích (Street Festival) in the centre of Ostrava, and the Czech Music Crossroads, a music showcase conference
Four-day tickets for Colours of Ostrava 2020 are available here for €125.
Colours of Ostrava is this year featuring the Killers, Twenty One Pilots and Martin Garrix
Rock in Rio Lisbon
When: 20 to 28 June
Where: Bela Vista Park, Lisbon, Portugal
How many: 80,000
The Lisbon edition of Brazilian mega festival Rock in Rio added two more acts to its 2020 line-up this week, with singers Ivete Sangalo and Anitta joining artists including Foo Fighters, the Black Eyed Peas, Camila Cabello, the National, Liam Gallagher and Post Malone.
Promoted by Rock City, in which Live Nation recently upped its shareholding to a majority stake, the festival’s flagship Rio de Janeiro event hosted the likes of Drake, Red Hit Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden, Pink and Muse across two four-day festival in September and October 2019.
Last year, Rock in Rio founder Roberto Medina hinted at the possibility of launching a Chilean edition of the festival, in what would be the first expansion of the festival brand within the Latin American region.
Tickets for Rock in Rio Lisboa are available here. Day tickets cost €69 (£58) and weekend passes are priced at €112 (£94).
The Lisbon edition of Brazilian mega festival Rock in Rio added two more acts to its 2020 line-up this week
Download Japan
When: 29 March
Where: Makuhari Messe Event Hall, Chiba, Japan
How many: 9,000
The Japanese edition of Live Nation’s Download festival franchise is returning for its second outing this March, with a headline performance from My Chemical Romance.
Other artists playing at the festival include Evanescence, the Offspring, Jimmy East World, Ministry and In Flames.
The flagship UK edition of Download Festival is celebrating its 18th year in 2020, with performances from Kiss, Iron Maiden and System of a Down.
Download is also returning to Australia this year, with festivals in Melbourne and Sydney on 20 and 21 March respectively. My Chemical Romance will also head up Download down under, alongside Ministry, Jimmy Eat World and Lacuna Coil, as well as domestic acts Dead Letter Circus, Hellions and Orpheus Omega.
Spanish and French editions of the festival will not be returning in 2020.
Tickets for Download Japan are available here for ¥16,500 (£115). Camping tickets for Download UK can be found here for £250 and tickets for the Australian Download events are available here for AU$194.93 (£99).
The Japanese edition of Live Nation’s Download festival franchise is returning for its second outing this March
Roskilde
When: 27 June to 4 July
Where: Roskilde, Denmark
How many: 85,000
Roskilde Festival’s 50th anniversary edition is shaping up to be a big, with 32 more acts added to the line-up this week.
Faith No More, FKA Twigs, Anderson Paak and Kacey Musgraves are among artists joining previously announced acts Taylor Swift, Tyler the Creator, Thom Yorke Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, Deftones and more.
“What is unique about this generation of artists is how fast they make their mark – both artistically and when it comes to drawing attention,” comments Anders Wahrén, head of programming at the Danish non-profit festival.
“Artists like FKA Twigs, Anderson Paak and Kacey Musgraves are important to music, but are also important voices for the young people too.”
Tickets for the full eight-day festival experience plus camping are available here for DDK2250 (£257).
Roskilde Festival’s 50th anniversary edition is shaping up to be a big, with 32 more acts added to the line-up this week
Summer Nights at the Bandstand
When: 30 July to 15 August
Where: Kelvingrove bandstand, Glasgow, Scotland
How many: 2,500
Regular Music’s annual concert series is returning to Glasgow’s Kelvingrove bandstand this summer for 13 nights of live music.
This year’s line-up includes performances from Rufus Wainwright, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, KT Tunstall, Van Morrison and Rick Astely, as well as a two-night run by Primal Scream.
All twelve shows sold out last year, which featured acts including Bloc Party, the National, Burt Bacharach, Father John Misty and Patti Smith. Tickets for this year’s Summer Nights went on sale last week, with the Van Morrison, Yusuf/Cat Stevens and Rick Astley shows already selling out.
“Kelvingrove Bandstand has such a fantastic atmosphere and the feedback we have had from both artists and audiences is that they have a great time just being there,” comments Regular Music director Mark Mackie. “They really are unique and special nights under the stars.”
Tickets for Summer Nights at the Bandstand 2020 are available here.
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Copping confirms Download Australia in 2018
Download booker Andy Copping has confirmed to IQ rumours that the long-running metal festival is heading down under.
After rumours of a 2017 event were quashed by Copping last July, a website, downloadfestival.com.au (now offline), briefly went live on Friday, bearing the message “We’re coming for you, Melborne” [sic].
Copping confirmed today the event is indeed on, despite the disappearance of the website, which was originally registered by Live Nation Australia Pty Ltd last year and updated on 12 October.
Download Australia is billed as being promoted by Live Nation, Unified and Secret Sounds, with which the company has a strategic partnership and is the majority owner, respectively.
Similar to Lollapalooza and, more recently, City Limits, Live Nation has over the past two years launched local editions of the UK-born festival franchise in other markets, including France and Spain.
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