Rock festival Under The Southern Stars has been postponed due to health concerns associated with COVID-19.
LIVE, Bush, Stone Temple Pilots were scheduled to perform at Newcastle's Foreshore Park on April 19 with support from Rose Tattoo and Electric Mary.
Concert promoter Andrew McManus had this to say in a statement this morning:
"Producing Under The Southern Stars music festivals each summer is a privilege and our fans and patrons have become part of the family. In light of the current global health crisis, we feel that it is imperative to protect the Under The Southern Stars family and proceed in a clear and calm manner.
"We have been closely monitoring the situation as it has developed and following directives from the Chief Medical Officer of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC). With the increase of travel bans and lock downs, in an effort to stop transmission of the virus which poses such a considerable threat to world health, and with the safety of our patrons, artists, staff and crew in mind we have no alternative than to postpone out April 2020 festival tour dates.
"We've been in consultation with all UTSS2020 artists in regard to their touring schedules and we plan to announce revised festival dates for Under The Southern Stars, next week. It is expected that our festival will be postponed until February/March 2020.
"All tickets already purchased will be valid for the new festival dates in 2021.
"Go in rock and stay healthy."
Download Festival
Download Festival has also been cancelled, due to headliners My Chemical Romance pulling out.
The band said earlier today: "To our dearest friends -It is with heavy hearts that we have decided to postpone our performances in Australia and New Zealand. We felt this was the right decision for our fans, our band, our crew, and our families given the current global situation. We apologize to our fans, but please know that we didn't come to this decision lightly. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to being with you all again as soon as we can. In the meantime, please be good to each other."
They were to have performed in Sydney and Melbourne on March 20 and 21.
Download Festival organisers have issued the following:
"Given that this announcement has come barely 7 days prior to Download Australia we will not be able to secure an alternative headliner as there is insufficient time to secure visas and arrange the other relevant logistics that are required prior to the festival.
"As we are unable to deliver a complete line-up to meet the standard that Download fans both expect and deserve, we have very reluctantly made the decision to cancel Download Australia 2020. The Download team has been working around the clock to create an unforgettable experience for heavy music fans and we are devastated not to be able to deliver this show to Australian Downloaders as planned. We are currently working with both My Chemical Romance and Deftones to schedule separate headline shows in Australia in 2020 and will update you all as soon as we have these. We are also working with a number of artists who have official Download sideshows scheduled, to add headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne next week, stay tuned for these dates.
"All ticket purchasers to the Download Melbourne and Sydney 2020 events will receive a full refund including booking and payment processing fees. We appreciate that the decision to cancel Download Australia will cause huge disappointment and may create major difficulty for ticket holders, for which we sincerely apologise. Moshtix will contact account holders on Monday 16th March via email with information regarding the refund process. We apologise for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience."
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