Healthcare Official Offers Insight Into Return Of Large Events

Festivals and concerts have been postponed or rescheduled across the globe due to concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The live event industry has taken a huge loss in revenue during this trying time, and one expert predicts that the industry will not fully resume until fall 2021.

According to the New York Times, bioethicist and professor of healthcare management Dr. Zeke Emanuel spoke about the industry in a recent roundtable discussion. He noted that he has “no idea” how promoters are already rescheduling shows to the fall and “think that’s a plausible possibility.”

“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. I think those things will be the last to return. Realistically, we’re talking fall 2021 at the earliest.”

While some large-scale festivals – like Firefly, Ultra, and Governors Ball – have cancelled 2020 editions, other festivals have only been pushed-back to the fall, including Coachella, Stagecoach, and Bonnaroo. Dozens of tours have been postponed, and sporting leagues are considering starting seasons as normal in the fall. We’ve rounded-up a list of events, including sports and concerts, that have been postponed to the fall.

Through this trying time, the concert industry is taking a huge hit. A new report from Pollstar shows that revenue from the industry could be down as much as $9 billion in 2020 – unparalleled from anything this country has ever experienced. Live Nation and AEG have cancelled or postponed current spring tours, as well as many gigs throughout the summer months. At this time, there’s no word when venues will reopen or we’ll return to some sense of normalcy.

As of Monday evening, there are more than 1.9 million cases of coronavirus across the world, leaving more than 100,000 dead, Worldometers.info reports. Currently, the U.S. holds the top number of cases in the world, 583,870, which has taken the lives of over 23,000 people. Last week, governors across the U.S. said that the virus seems to be plateauing in some of the hardest-hit cities.