Rock and Roll Hall of Fame postpones induction ceremony due to coronavirus

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced that it is postponing this year’s induction ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic.

• Read more: How coronavirus could impact the music scene (and your festival plans) this summer

Due to take place on May 2, this year’s Hall of Fame class includes Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, the Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, the Notorious B.I.G. and T-Rex.

“We are very disappointed to announce the postponement of this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony,” Rock and Roll Hall of Fame President Joel Peresman said in a statement (via Rolling Stone). “Our first concern is to the health and safety of our attendees and artists and we are complying to the direction of the local and state authorities and common sense. We look forward to rescheduling the ceremony and will make that announcement at the earliest convenience.”

To be eligible to enter the hallowed hall, an artist’s first commercial records need to have been released 25 years ago, in 1994. Last year’s longlist featured the likes of Rage Against the Machine, Kraftwerk, MC5, Rufus & Chaka Khan, LL Cool J, Devo, Todd Rundgren, and John Prine – but failed to make the final cut when the final list of inductees was whittled down to  Radiohead, The Cure, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Roxy Music, Def Leppard, and the Zombies.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and its museum are located in Cleveland, Ohio. There are currently only four confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Ohio, but authorities and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine are considering plans to issue a public order limiting mass gatherings of people.

Elsewhere, Dublin’s C2C Festival has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It comes after Coachella announced earlier this week that it will be postponed until October.

Meanwhile, artists such as Avril Lavigne, The Who, Green Day, Pearl Jam, My Chemical Romance, Madonna and Foals have all been forced to either cancel or postpone planned shows in territories across the world in recent weeks.

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