Primavera Sound Festival postponed until August as coronavirus crisis continues

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Primavera Sound Festival has been postponed until August as the coronavirus crisis continues.

• Read More: Coronavirus: every cancelled gig, festival and tour – and how to get your ticket refund

Posting a statement on their website, festival organisers described the postponement as a “once in a lifetime ‘occurrence’ in the face of this emergency.”

The original festival was meant to take place from June 3-7 in what will be Primavera’s 20th anniversary.

Now, the festival will take place from August 26-30 and tickets already purchased for the festival will continue to be valid for the new dates. This is the same weekend as the Reading and Leeds festival is also due to take place.

Festival organisers added: “Once the state of alarm decreed by the Government of Spain is over as well its possible extensions, we will give you more information and will reactivate the ticket sales.” Organisers also said more details about NOS Primavera Sound Porto will follow soon.

In a lengthy statement on their site, organisers of the festival said: “There are things that only happen once in a lifetime. The current global COVID-19 health crisis is, unfortunately, one of them. But it won’t be the only one. The spirit of solidarity and collective response of society in the face of this emergency will live on for a long time, and will allow us to embrace exceptional situations and overcome the challenge…and to literally embrace each other once it is over.

“Faced with this constantly changing scenario, the restrictions imposed by the authorities on the celebration of public shows and on the free movement of people (making the participation of the announced artists difficult and in many cases impossible) and in coordination with the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Barcelona City Council and the Sant Adrià de Besòs City Council, we are forced to postpone the upcoming edition of Primavera Sound Barcelona for reasons of force majeure known to us all.

“Our absolute priority has always been to guarantee the safety of our audience, artists and all the people involved in the festival.”

The statement continued: “We feel obliged and responsible to contribute insofar as we can to the survival of the live music scene, whose role will be key to the return to normality after this absolutely unprecedented situation that has never been faced before by the cultural sector and all its agents: artists and their teams, agencies, promoters, venues, festivals, stage builders, technical and production teams, bar staff, cleaning and security staff, and in general the thousands of people involved in the sector.

“…Let’s all face this together. We will get through this together. And we will celebrate our 20th anniversary together. We are waiting for you in the Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona at the end of August. Primavera in summer, for once in a lifetime.”

Primavera in summer, for once in a lifetime.
More info at https://t.co/ZvNNJAIE8U pic.twitter.com/pYUQTgVtqs

— primavera_sound (@Primavera_Sound) March 28, 2020

The Strokes, Lana Del Rey and Tyler, the Creator are among the leading names on this year’s Primavera Sound lineup.

As well as the three aforementioned artists, the likes of Beck, Bikini Kill, Caribou, Massive Attack, Iggy Pop, Disclosure, King Princess, The National, Kacey Musgraves, Pavement, King Krule, Brockhampton and Young Thug are also on the bill.

It comes as festivals in the UK continue to be cancelled, with Lovebox, Parklife and All Points East all cancelling their events yesterday.

Earlier this month, Glastonbury festival cancelled in what would have been its 50th anniversary year.

A statement from Michael and Emily Eavis said: “We are so sorry to announce this, but we are going to have to cancel Glastonbury 2020. Tickets for this year will roll over to next year.

“Clearly this was not a course of action we hoped to take for our 50th anniversary event, but following the new government measures announced this week – and in times of such unprecedented uncertainty – this is now our only viable option.”

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