The Coachella Valley Music and Arts and the Stagecoach Country Music festivals have officially been canceled for 2021.
Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser issued a public health order canceling the two major festivals, which were initially scheduled for April 2021, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The order stated both festivals were canceled as a "result of the worldwide epidemic of COVID-19 disease" and "based on concerns of a fall resurgence of COVID-19 disease, also known as 'novel coronavirus,' which has infected at least 100,418,923 individuals worldwide in 192 countries."
The public health order states that the decision was made with the intention "to reduce the likelihood of exposure to COVID019, thereby slowing the spread of COVID-19 in communities worldwide."
The order states that if COVID-19 was detected at the festivals, it could have led to a widespread outbreak among the large number of attendees and would be impossible to track attendees who may be placed at risk.
Both festivals were initially postponed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring and was pushed back to last October, before being rescheduled to April 2021.
“A year without Coachella and Stagecoach is hard for us to comprehend, but we have every intention of returning in 2021,” a statement from events organizer Goldenvoice stated last June via CBS Los Angeles.
Event organizers have not confirmed whether the events will be rescheduled for a later date.
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