Just days after the city of Austin revealed there would be no SXSW festival this year, the coronavirus has claimed another festival: Coachella. The sunny Indio gathering, which was slated to blossom in mid-April, will leave bands, fans, and budding influencers in the wind until October—specifically October 9 through 16, which means it will now overlap with Austin City Limits (October 2 to 11). Also, the country music-themed off-shoot fest Stagecoach, which was supposed to be held at the end of April, has also been delayed to the end of October.
Rage Against The Machine, Frank Ocean, Travis Scott, Thom Yorke, and Lana Del Rey were slated to perform at the festival, which is known for the lavish sets put on by its headliners. It’s likely that millions have already been spent in the preparation for their sets.
The larger financial impact, however, is how the cancellation will ripple throughout the greater Coachella Valley. The L.A. Times reports that the economic activity Coachella drives in the area is in the hundreds of millions, and that Indio, the city where the festival unfolds, nets over $3 million in tax revenue every year from ticket sales alone. Forbes, meanwhile, estimates that the festival’s global footprint runs north of $1 billion.
As of Saturday, there were at least 100 reported cases of coronavirus in California, which has declared a state of emergency. There are over 900 cases reported nationwide, with 30 reported deaths.