Coronavirus Is An Event Killer. Here’s A List Of Cancelations Or Postponements

Events across the world are being canceled and or postponed because the liability via organizers to have a mass Covid-19 outbreak would be devastating for their image. It’s also due to governments banning public gatherings to arrest the spread of the virus. This could mean, most large events with thousands of attendees are likely to be canceled for the first half of the year. So far, the fast-spreading virus has killed 4,288 and infected 119,311 people across the world. 

Sports matches are the most common type of events being canceled and or postponed across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Second, are concerts and festivals. One of the most high-profile events postponed this week has been the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. Organizers moved the April 10-12 and April 17-19 dates to October 9-11 and 16-18 on hopes the virus crisis developing in the US would subside in the next six months. 

Organizers are also pulling the plug on conferences, auto shows, film production, and even political events. 

Another major event that was delayed this week has been the New York International Auto Show, postponed until late-August due to virus fears.

“We are taking this extraordinary step to help protect our attendees, exhibitors and all participants from the coronavirus,” Mark Schienberg, president of the dealer group, said in a statement.

Many other noteworthy events have been delayed or outright canceled in the last several weeks as the virus spreads. Here’s a round-up of some top events that have been affected: 

Concerts

• Mariah Carey tweeted earlier this month that her scheduled performance in Hawaii on March 10 was canceled and will be rescheduled for November.
• Khalid informed fans last month that his entire Asian tour would be canceled this year. 
• Korean boy band BTS recently canceled their performances in South Korea. 
• Rapper Stormzy canceled his “Heavy Is the Head World Tour” to Asia. The London rapper called off his Zurich, Switzerland, performance on March 5, after the government banned any events with more than 1,000 people.
• Rockband Green Day canceled upcoming performances in Singapore, Bangkok, Manila, Taipei, Hong Kong, Seoul, Osaka, and Tokyo.
• Avril Lavigne said her world tour in Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, and several cities in China would be canceled. 
• English singer Louis Tomlinson canceled his March 11 show in Milan, Italy, and told fans he would be back “in July.” 
• Madonna canceled two shows in Paris on March 10 and 11 due to France banning gatherings over 1,000 as the number of confirmed cases rise in the country.
• Pearl Jam postponed their four-month North American tour on virus fears.
• Miley Cyrus canceled her upcoming Australian tour. 
• Zac Brown Band announced on March 10 they would post the Owl Tour.

Conferences 

• 2020 South by Southwest was canceled after tech companies, including Apple, Facebook, and Twitter withdrew participation on virus fears.
• Tucson Festival of Books, slated for March 14-15, was canceled due to virus prevention measures, it’s one of the biggest book festivals in the country.
• Google canceled its I/O developer event near Palo Alto, California, in May.
• New York International Auto Show was rescheduled to late August on hopes the virus crisis in the Tri-state area would subside in six months.
• Mobile World Congress, the biggest smartphone conference in the world, held in Barcelona, Italy, was canceled for virus fears.
• Game Developers Conference in San Francisco was canceled after Sony and Microsoft pulled out of the event.
• Google News Initiative Global Summit was canceled because of the outbreak.
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Las Vegas was postponed for new virus cases in the town. 
• Shopify canceled its annual developer conference for virus issues.
• Seattle’s Emerald City Comic Con was canceled for March 12-15 as cases and deaths soar in Washington.
• TED 2020 in Vancouver for April 20-24 was canceled. 
• World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium on March 17-18 in Lausanne, Switzerland, was canceled. 

Festivals 

• Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was postponed until October for virus fears in California.
• Ultra Music Festival in Miami was canceled for July because of virus fears. 
• St. Patrick’s Day parades in March were canceled across Ireland.
• Top fashion shows in Paris and Milan have been canceled for the next several months.
• Tomorrowland Music Festival at the Alpe d’Huez Grand Domaine Ski resort in the French Alps, slated for March 14-21, was canceled.

Sporting Events 

• Chinese Grand Prix slated for April has been postponed.
• Bahrain Grand Prix suspends ticket sales for March 22 event. 
• Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) canceled three upcoming tournaments across Asia.
• FIFA postponed the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup.
• 2020 BNP Paribas Open in Coachella Valley, California, was canceled after virus cases surge in the region.
•  New York City Half-Marathon planned for March 15 has been canceled. 
• Formula E’s Sanya E-Prix on March 21 in China has been canceled.
• Formula E’s Rome E-Prix on April 4 in Rome, Italy, has been postponed.
• The Olympic qualifying tournament in Taiwan has been postponed.
• BMX European Cup rounds March 19-28 in Verona, Italy, has been postponed.
• Hong Kong Rugby Sevens for April 3-5 has been postponed until October 16-18. 
• Singapore Rugby Sevens for April 11-12 has been postponed until October 10-11. 
• Asia women’s rugby championship in Hong Kong for March 14-22 has been rescheduled to May 8-16.
• Asia Sevens Rugby Invitational, doubling as an Olympic Sevens test event for April 25-26, is now canceled.
• Barcelona Marathon on March 15 postponed to October 25.
• Seoul Marathon on March 22 canceled.
• Rome Marathon on March 29 canceled.
• Paris Marathon on April 5 postponed to October 18.
• Milan Marathon in Italy on April 5 postponed.
• Wuhan Marathon in China on April 12 canceled.
• Arsenal v. Manchester soccer match on March 11 postponed.

Political Events

• Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President have both canceled political rallies for virus fears on March 10. 

Launches and Premieres

• Disney+ European Press Launch event in London for the second week of March has been canceled. 
• Peter Rabbit 2’s international release has been postponed until August. 
• No Time to Die release has been shifted to November. 
• Sonic The Hedgehog’s Chinese premiere delayed.

Film and TV Shoots

• The Bachelorette filming in Italy halted.
• Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune is filming without an audience.
• The Amazing Race filming production in England and Scotland postponed. 
• Mission: Impossible 7 production in Italy halted.

To sum up, the cancelations and postponements of events around the world don’t’ bode well for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics that are expected to start in late July. An announcement next month by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) could decide the fate of the Games.