It’s Official: Europe’s Festival Summer Canceled

Many European governments have banned large events until the end of August, putting an end to the continent’s festival summer.

European promoters have been waiting for government updates on each country’s Covid-19 restrictions until the very last minute before making the decision to cancel their events.

But with Germany and Belgium banning large events until Aug. 31, following France, where the new target date is mid-July, there is no more hope for some of the world’s most iconic festivals.

FKP Scorpio was forced to scrap all of its summer events, which includes Southside and Hurricane festivals, Elbjazz, Deichbrand, Highfield, M’era Luna  and the premiere of Limestone festival.

Goodlive’s German festivals Melt and Splash are also affected, while no announcements have been made yet regarding the premiere of Superbloom, which is still scheduled for Sept. 5-6.

German promoter Music Eggert had to cancel its flagship festival Airbeat One and 14 other events, and has asked customers to remain patient until the beginning of May, when they will be given information regarding their tickets.

Another one of Germany’s, and indeed Europe’s, biggest EDM events, the World Club Dome by BigCityBeats also had to be cancelled due to Covid-19.

Germany’s Wacken Open Air won’t take place in 2020 either. “We are facing an unprecedented situation and for the first time in 30 years we have to announce with a heavy heart that unfortunately there cannot be a Wacken Open Air this year”, said festival co-founder Holger Hübner.

His fellow co-founder Thomas Jensen added: “This administrative order affects us heavily and we will need some time to process the bad news. Nevertheless, we support the decision of the German government in this difficult situation for the whole world. The health and safety of all visitors, artists, employees, tradesmen, security and rescue services, public authorities and all other participants has always been our highest priority. 

“We as promoters are therefore bound to take an even greater responsibility and have to follow the instructions of the experts.”

Wacken investor Superstruct had to also cancel events in Denmark, the first European country to extend bans on large scale events until the end of summer.

It hasn’t yet made any announcements regarding its Eastern European events, including Balaton Sound, Volt and Exit.

Ticketholder will be contacted with details. The German government recently introduced a law that allows promoters to offer fans vouchers for any of their events, instead of ticket refunds. If he vouchers aren’t redeemed within a year, promoters need to refund the ticket.

This measure is supposed to help with promoters’ cash liquidity. Smaller promoter with only one event per year obviously have no use for such a voucher. All the can do is offer their fans the option of holding on to their tickets, which will grant them access to next year’s edition, and hope that many will heed that option.

Most of the countries small festivals have already announced their cancellation as well. One exception is Immergut Festival, which has moved its original May date to September for the time being.

In Belgium, Rock Werchter has announced the cancellation of its 2020 edition, which was bound to send shock waves through Europe. 

The current situation will lead to a lot of U.S. acts not making the journey across the pond for the summer season – or any tour for that matter. Since many of the continent’s major events share the same acts, such decisions will have a ripple effect on the entire industry.

Other major events on the continent have cancelled, including Slovakia’s Pohoda festival and Portugal’s biennial Boom Festival. Spain’s Primavera Sound has postponed the event from June 3-7 to Aug. 26-30, however, it remains to be seen whether the Spanish authorities decide to introduce extended bans on public life.

The UK’s Covid-19 casualties include the world-famous Glastonbury Festival, AEG Present’s London events All Points East and BST Hyde Park, and many other beloved events, including Live Nation’s Lovebox, Download and the Isle Of Wight festivals.

Promoters generally wait for official government orders before announcing any cancellation, as this allows them to fall back on force majeure claims for insurance purposes. 

As Pollstar has gathered from various conversations over the past days, weeks and months, most promoters would like to communicate with their fans as transparent and as early as possible, which is in conflict with the communication strategy of governments, who try and wait as long as possible before announcing new restrictions in order to avoid panic among the populace.

Pollstar has reached out to various festival promoters, large and small, to get their take on these latest developments.