More major Spanish festivals pull the plug on 2021
Spain’s 2021 festival season has diminished once again with fresh cancellations from major festivals Mad Cool and Bilbao BBK Live.
Other marquee Spanish festivals including Primavera Sound and Sónar Barcelona were previously called off, while Arenal Sound, Festival Internacional de Benicàssim and Cruïlla are still forging ahead with this year’s events.
Live Nation-promoted Mad Cool (cap. 60,000) was set to take place between 7–10 July 2021 in Madrid but this morning (20 May), the organisers confirmed that this year’s event is cancelled due to the “current force majeure circumstances” of the pandemic.
“It has been a very painful decision to come to, as our desire (and probably yours) was to find ourselves all together again at Mad Cool in 2021,” they said in a statement.
“However, we would like to let you know we think this is the appropriate, sensible and right decision to make. Health is more important than anything.”
“[Mad Cool] would like to let you know we think this is the appropriate, sensible and right decision to make”
The fifth edition of Mad Cool will take place in 2022 from July 6–9. All purchased tickets for Mad Cool 2021 will be valid for the 2022 edition of the festival, while refunds and ticket changes will be available between 7–21 July.
A line-up announcement for 2022 is expected to be made before 7 July, with the organisers noting that “we are keeping as many artists as we can from 2021 and also adding some new ones so we can have the best line-up ever”.
The likes of The Killers, Haim and Cardi B had all been set to play at the 2021 edition of the event.
The cancellation of Mad Cool follows that of Bilbao BBK Live, which was called off on Tuesday (18 May) due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions.
The 15th anniversary of the Spanish event was due to take place between 8–10 July 2021, with the likes of The Killers, Pet Shop Boys, Supergrass and FKA Twigs.
“We appreciate [fans’] patience, and we share the same frustration for missing out on the festival yet again”
“First and foremost, a big thank you to all of you for your patience and resilience during these tough times,” a statement read.
“We feel your support now more than ever. As you can imagine, Bilbao BBK Live will not be held as originally planned nor on the scheduled date. We will have to wait a bit longer as the highly anticipated reunion is postponed to 2022.”
The post continues: “We appreciate your patience, and we share the same frustration for missing out on the festival yet again. All we can think about is how incredible the reunion is going to be after this long wait, and we guarantee it will be worth it.
We will return even more eager to celebrate and enjoy live music. See you next year!”
The line-up for Bilbao 2022 will arrive by 8 July.
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European festivals reveal line-ups for 2021 editions
The UK’s Download Festival, Serbia’s Exit Festival and Rolling Loud Portugal are among the first major European festivals to unveil line-ups for next year, after cancelling their 2020 editions due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Kiss, Biffy Clyro and System of a Down have been announced to headline the UK’s heavy metal festival, which will take place between 4 and 6 June in Donnington Park next year.
In place of Download Festival 2020, promoter Festival Republic created a virtual version of the festival, airing footage of previous live performances from the acts billed to play including Kiss, Iron Maiden and System of a Down.
Exit Festival has also revealed the first wave of headliners including David Guetta, Tyga and DJ Snake for its 2021 edition, which will take place from 8 to 11 July in Novi Sad.
Rolling Loud will make its European debut next summer with performances from A$AP Rocky, Future, Wiz Khalifa
The Serbian mega festival was one of the last major European events to cancel this year’s edition after hopes of postponing from July to the end of August were dashed due to new outbreaks of the virus in the country.
Elsewhere, Rolling Loud will make its European debut next summer with performances from A$AP Rocky, Future, Wiz Khalifa. The hip-hop festival will take place between 6 and 8 July next year at Praia da Rocha beach in Portimao, Portugal.
Among the festivals that have already announced line-ups for 2021 are Primavera Sound Barcelona, which reported a record sell-out for next year’s edition, and Mad Cool in Madrid, which will welcome performances from Twenty One Pilots, Placebo and the Killers.
The UK’s Isle of Wight Festival has also announced the first wave of artists for next year’s edition, taking place from 17 to 20 June including Lionel Richie, Snow Patrol and Duran Duran.
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