Music Festivals May Not Be Able to Restart Until September 2021, Says One US Public Health Expert
Will Australia's ban on mass gatherings be the last to be lifted?
This week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the country could start relaxing some COVID-19 restrictions as early as mid-May, if certain conditions were met. But, according to one public health expert, festivals and big concerts could be off the cards until late 2021.
In an interview with The New York Times Magazine in which five experts discussed what the reopening of America could look like, Dr Ezekiel Emanuel, vice provost for global initiatives and chair of the department of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, said he thinks larger gatherings "will be the last to return".
"Larger gatherings — conferences, concerts, sporting events — when people say they're going to reschedule this conference or graduation event for October 2020, I have no idea how they think that's a plausible possibility," Emanuel said. "I think those things will be the last to return. Realistically we're talking fall 2021 at the earliest." This doesn't bode well for Californian festival Coachella, which has rescheduled for early October 2020.
While the US has so far reported a total of 632,548 cases compared to Australia's 6468, it could still mean mass-gathering restrictions may not be lifted in time for the 2020 festival season Down Under. Australia's ban on non-essential mass gatherings of over 500 people was one of the first restrictions implemented — way back on March 13, 2020 — so could, if we're to work backwards, be one of the last lifted.
Bec Taylor
Splendour in the Grass, which was meant to take place this July, is currently hoping to go ahead on October 23–25. Canberra's Spilt Milk, NSW's Lost Paradise, Vic's Meredith and Falls Festival all usually take place in November and December, too.
And, even if Australia's mass-gatherings ban is lifted in time, festivals could be impacted by headliners not being able to enter the country, with Australia's borders currently closed. Splendour, for example, is set to host headliners The Strokes (US) and Tyler, The Creator (US).
If festivals are impacted by COVID-19, it'll be the third year running in which the season has been marred. In early 2019, some NSW festivals were forced to cancel due to costs associated with the State Government's strict festival licensing regime, then, this summer, festivals — including Falls, Lost Paradise and Rainbow Serpent — were stopped by the country's devastating bushfires.
Top image: Bluesfest by Andy Fraser
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