Coronavirus: All the cancelled festivals and tour dates, from Billie Eilish to The Who
Artists are cancelling tours as countries ban events of more than 500 people, while others are postponing for the safety of their fans
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Your support makes all the difference.A number of public events are being cancelled as the UK, the US and countries around the world attempt to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
Some countries have introduced bans on public events of more than 500 – 1,000 people, causing a number of artists to cancel live shows.
Here are all the music events cancelled or postponed so far:
My Chemical Romance have cancelled their tour of Australia, New Zealand and Japan, including exclusive shows for Download festival in Melbourne and Sydney.
Billie Eilish has postponed March dates of her world tour, which includes dates around North America.
The Who have postponed their UK tour, which was due to start next Monday (16 March), due to coronavirus fears. The tour was meant to start at the Manchester Arena before finishing at Wembley SSE Arena in April. The dates will be rescheduled for later in the year and all tickets will be honoured.
Stormzy has cancelled dates of the Asia leg of his Heavy is the Head tour. He was due to play Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, China and South Korea. ”I promise I’ll be back,” he said after making the announcement.
BTS have cancelled a series of their South Korean dates for the Map of the Soul: 7 world tour.
Mariah Carey has postponed a show she was due to play in Hawaii until November.
Avril Lavigne announced the cancellation of several shows in Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines. She said she was “bummed out” by the decision and told her fans to “stay healthy”.
Green Day decided to cancel shows in Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Taipei, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.
Madonna was forced to cancel the final two shows of her Madame X tour, after France introduced restrictions on public gatherings.
Those French government restrictions include a ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people. This has disrupted gigs, sporting events, and festivals, among other events.
Miley Cyrus pulled out of an appearance at the World Tour Bushfire Relief charity concert in Melbourne, Australia. Lil Nas X had also been set to appear at the concert. However, the benefit concert has now been cancelled altogether.
Queen won’t be at their AccorHotels Arena show in Paris, scheduled for 26 May. The band are working with authorities to decide on a new date.
Louis Tomlinson’s gig in Milan has understandably been called off. The show, scheduled for 11 March, would have taken place in one of the areas worst affected by the spread of COVID-19 in Italy.
Khalid has had to postpone his Asian tour dates. The R&B megastar had been set to perform a glut of gigs between 24 March and 14 April.
New Order have ordered the cancellation of their shows in Tokyo and Osaka. According to a statement, the band would “hate to risk our fan’s health or the of risk spreading the virus on our return“.
Pearl Jam postponed their US and Canada tour, citing coronavirus-related risk “simply too high for our comfort level”.
Neil Young hasn’t cancelled anything just yet, but he’s delaying announcing his Crazy Horse world tour because he doesn’t want to “put people at risk, especially our older audience”.
Russell Brand cancelled a stand-up performance in Perth, after being informed someone attending an earlier show had a confirmed case of coronavirus.
a-ha will no longer be touring Japan, leaving the country’s “Take On Me” fans bitterly disappointed. The tour will be rescheduled for a later date.
Foals cancelled three shows they were set to perform in Japan, promising: ”We will be back to honour these engagements, so will just be seeing you a little later than expected. In the meantime, please hang on to your tickets.”
Pixies have cancelled several shows in Japan and China, but are yet to announce a date when they will return.
The National cancelled two shows in Tokyo “in the interest of public safety”.
Sam Fender was forced to cancel shows in Switzerland due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19.
Record Store Day has been postponed until 20 June. The organisers said: “We’re working with all of our partners and our stores to make this change as smooth as possible for everyone: customers, record stores, artists, labels and more.”
South by Southwest (SXSW) the annual music festival and conference in Austin, Texas, has cancelled its 2020 event following concerns from the city about the coronavirus outbreak.
In a statement, the festival said: “’The show must go on’ is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place. We are now working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation.”
The Cambridge Folk Festival 2020 has been cancelled. Festival organisers said: “Those that have already booked tickets will be offered the choice of a refund or the chance to hold onto the tickets for the 2021 edition.”
This article will be updated regularly.
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