Coachella & Stagecoach 2020 festivals have been officially cancelled

Update: Coachella and Stagecoach organizers Goldenvoice have issued a statement regarding this year’s cancellation and plans to return next year:

Under the continuing health guidance of the County of Riverside, Coachella and Stagecoach 2020 will not take place this October as previously rescheduled. This is not the future that any of us hoped to confront, but our main focus remains the well-being of our fans, staff, artists, desert partners and everyone involved in the festival.

A year without Coachella and Stagecoach is hard for us to comprehend, but we have every intention of returning in 2021. As of now, Coachella weekend one will take place April 9 — 11, 2021 and weekend two will be April 16 — 18, 2021. Stagecoach is set for April 23 — 25, 2021. We look forward to sharing our new lineups and more information. We can’t wait to be together in the desert again when it is safe.

All 2020 passes will be honored in 2021. Current pass holders will be sent an email by the end of the day on Monday, June 15 with further instructions to request a refund or to roll over to next year.

Note that they mentioned “new lineups” for next year’s festivals.

Original post…

This year’s Coachella and Stagecoach festivals have been officially cancelled, as per the The County of Riverside Department of Public Health who publicly released the following statement late yesterday:

The Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals, which were earlier postponed until October because of the growing spread of coronavirus, have been canceled for 2020.

Citing concerns over a possible autumn resurgence of COVID-19, Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser today (June 10) signed the order canceling the popular festivals. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach Country Music Festival were originally scheduled for April, but they were postponed until October after Kaiser issued a similar order.

“I am concerned as indications grow that COVID-19 could worsen in the fall,” said Kaiser. “In addition, events like Coachella and Stagecoach would fall under Governor Newsom’s Stage 4, which he has previously stated would require treatments or a vaccine to enter. Given the projected circumstances and potential, I would not be comfortable moving forward.

“These decisions are not taken lightly with the knowledge that many people will be impacted. My first priority is the health of the community.”

County officials have been in contact with Goldenvoice, which operates both the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach Festival 2020, and Kaiser praised the company for its efforts to protect the health of concert goers.

“After consulting with our public health officer and local leaders from the City of Indio and Goldenvoice, and with continued importance on public health, it was decided that postponing the concert series was appropriate and necessary,” said Chair V. Manuel Perez, Fourth District Supervisor.

County officials also issued a public health order that reads as follows:

ORDER OF THE HEALTH OFFICER OF THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE CANCELLING COACHELLA AND STAGECOACH ON DATES CURRENTLY SCHEDULED DATE OF ORDER: JUNE 10, 2020

Please read this Order carefully. Violation of or failure to comply with this Order is a crime punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both. (California Health and Safety Code § 120295; County Ordinances 533 and 556.)

UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF CALIFORNIA HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE SECTIONS 101040, 101085, AND 120175, TITLE 17 CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS SECTION 2501, AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY CODE SECTION 533.6, THE HEALTH OFFICER OF THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE (“HEALTH OFFICER”) ORDERS:

1. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Stagecoach Country Music Festival, are hereby cancelled for the calendar year 2020.

2. This Order is issued as a result of the worldwide epidemic of COVID-19 disease, also known as “novel coronavirus,” which has infected at least 7,297,059 individuals worldwide in 188 countries and is implicated in over 413,237 worldwide deaths as of the date of this Order. Riverside County has 9,590 confirmed cases and 365 deaths.

3. This Order is issued based on concerns of a fall resurgence of COVID-19 both within the County of Riverside and worldwide, scientific evidence regarding the most effective approach to slow transmission of communicable diseases generally and COVID-19 specifically, and best practices as currently known and available to protect the public from the risk of spread of or exposure to COVID-19.

4. This Order recognizes that both the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Stagecoach Country Music Festival are music concerts and gatherings of an international scope, attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees from many countries, including several disproportionately afflicted by the worldwide COVID-19 epidemic.

5. This Order is intended to reduce the likelihood of exposure to COVID-19, thereby slowing the spread of COVID-19 in communities worldwide. If COVID-19 were detected at these festivals, the scope and number of attendees and the nature of the venue would make it infeasible, if not impossible, to track those who may be placed at risk.

6. This Order is issued in accordance with, and incorporates by reference, the: March 4, 2020 Proclamation of a State Emergency issued by Governor Gavin Newsom; the March 8, 2020 Declaration of Local Health Emergency based on an imminent and proximate threat to public health from the introduction of novel COVID-19 in Riverside County; the March 10, 2020 Resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Riverside proclaiming the existence of a Local Emergency in the County of Riverside regarding COVID-19; and the March 10, 2020 Resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Riverside ratifying and extending the Declaration of Local Health Emergency due to COVID-19; and the Governor’s Stay-at-Home Order of March 19, 2020.

7. This Order is made in accordance with all applicable State and Federal laws, including but not limited to: Health and Safety Code sections 101030, et seq.; Health and Safety Code sections 120100, et seq.; and Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations section 2501.

8. To the extent necessary, pursuant to Government Code sections 26602 and 41601 and Health and Safety Code section 101029, the Health Officer requests that the Sheriff and all Chiefs of Police in the County ensure compliance with and enforcement of this Order.

9. Copies of this Order shall promptly be: (1) made available at the County of Riverside Health Administration office located at 4065 County Circle Drive, Riverside, CA 92503; (2) posted on the County of Riverside Public Health Department’s website (rivcoph.org); and (3) provided to any member of the public requesting a copy of this Order.

The order was signed by public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser and county counsel Gregory P. Priamos.

Coachella 2020 – initially planned for April 10 – 12 and April 17 – 19 – was postponed back in March due to the ongoing pandemic, and rescheduled for October 9 – 11 and Oct. 16 – 18 of this year.

As we reported yesterday, Billboard noted that the festival was unlikely to return in October as originally hoped.

The 2020 Coachella lineup listed sets from Rage Against The Machine, Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, Calvin Harris, Thom Yorke, Run The Jewels and more.

As of this posting, Coachella have yet to issue a statement regarding the cancellation.