Austin City Limits Festival Cancelled; Tourism Economy Compromised
The spike of the coronavirus led the cancellation of 2020 Austin City Limits Festival. The annual festival’s cancellation was announced, Wednesday (July 1), by the organizers through a statement on its website.
“…with the uncertainty surrounding the current situation in Texas, this decision is the only responsible solution,” the statement wrote. “The health and safety of our fans, artists, partners, staff and the entire Austin community remains our highest priority,” it added.
ACL Festival, usually venues in Austun’s Zilker Park at fall season, made the festival goers who already purchased tickets will be able to enjoy them in next year’s event. However, a refund option will be made available if one chooses to do so. Next year’s ACL Festival was also deferred to a later date -- first weekend will be on October 1-3, second will take place on October 8-10.
As per RollingStone, Texas has been struggling with the re-opening of its city after several months of the dreadful lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Things did not go well as planned though.
The cancellation announcement comes amid the spike of COVID-19 cases in the city, having 7,000 newly confirmed cases in a day on, Tuesday (June 30).
Reports have it that the festival’s cancellation is a major loss for Austin’s tourism economy, Billboard reported. This is in relation to Austin’s cancellation of another huge festival in March, the South By Southwest Festival; which allows the city to accept hundreds of thousands of tourists each year.
As per TexasTribune report, last year, the festival garnered an estimated $291 million to Austin’s economy that made 1,500 job vacancies across the city’s establishments like hotels, restaurants, bars, and transportation.
The organizers have expressed their eagerness in producing another massive hit show this year. However, they have highlighted in their statement that the cancellation is the “only responsible solution."
On the other hand, the SXSW Festival made a massive impact the same year as ACL to Austin’s economy through its estimated $356 million earnings, according to Statesman.
This is the highest number of festival cancellations in Austin’s history. The rising number of COVID-19 cases in the city created tension and fear with the festival organizers, who also are in cooperation with the Texas’ government in keeping everyone safe and secure. Republican Governor Greg Abbott is urging everyone to stay home to avoid the spread of the virus.
2019 ACL Festival was graced by artists including Cardi B, Billie Elish, The Cure and Guns N’ Roses, making its as on of the city’s largest annual festival. Along with the festival’s cancellation, other major festivals will also not be taking its place this year, namely the ever-famous Coachella Festival in California and Bonnarroo Festival in Tennessee.
See ACL Festival's statement below on their recent Instagram post.
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