Sorry Folks, But Music Festivals Probably Won’t Happen Until We Have A COVID-19 Vaccine
"It's hard for me to envisage reopening of nightclubs and big music festivals in the foreseeable future."
Nightclubs and music festivals could be off the table for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 crisis, according to Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy.
As reported by the ABC, his comments came during a briefing to politicians in New Zealand regarding Australia’s handling of the pandemic, which has already devastated the local music industry.
The Professor explained that until a vaccine is found, large scale gatherings would be out of the question.
“Unless you’re absolutely, completely confident about your borders, your testing, your surveillance, you can’t relax a measure of distancing,” Murphy said.
“It’s hard for me to envisage reopening of nightclubs and big music festivals in the foreseeable future.”
Experts have flagged that mid-2021 is the earliest we might expect a vaccine to become available.
Bluesfest, Groovin The Moo, Download Festival, and Dark Mofo already pulled the plug in March due to the crisis, while Splendour in the Grass has been rescheduled until October — a date which now seems optimistic.
Photo Credit: Mikki Gomez/Music Junkee