Reading And Leeds Festival 2020 Cancelled Due To Coronavirus Concerns
This year’s event was due to host stars including Sam Fender, Rage Against The Machine, Liam Gallagher and Dermot Kennedy.
Reading and Leeds Festival have announced that the event will not be taking place this year due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
The twin-city British festival was due to take place across August Bank Holiday weekend with headline sets from Rage Against The Machine, Stormzy and Liam Gallagher and a bumper line-up also including Sam Fender, Dermot Kennedy, Run The Jewels and Gerry Cinnamon. After telling ticket-holders back in March that they were hoping to go ahead and see the event through while “implementing recommendations and instructions appropriately”, now they’ve made the decision to pull the festival until 2021.
“We’ve been closely monitoring this unprecedented situation, and we were hopeful we could deliver the ultimate festival to you in August, something to look forward to in these strange and confusing times,” said organisers Festival Republic in a statement. “However, it’s become clear that it’s just not possible for this year’s festival to go ahead.
Organisers went on to say that they were “working closely with ticketing partners to process refunds, but fans would also have the opportunity to carry their ticket over to next year.”
“We’re already counting down the days to when we’re back in the fields we call home for the August Bank Holiday Weekend,” they added. “We promise that Reading and Leeds 2021 will be worth the wait.”
The Reading and Leeds news comes after headliners Rage Against The Machine have already postponed many of their reunion tour dates until next year, while Primavera Sound – which was set to take place over the same August Bank Holiday weekend – has also been cancelled until 2021. The likes of Glastonbury and Isle of Wight Festival have also been forced to cancel their 2020 events.
A number of figures from the UK Festival scene have spoken to NME about their doubts of large outdoor events being able to return this year – as well as shooting down the idea of festivals with social distancing.
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