The 2020 edition of the U.K.’s Download festival has officially been canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Festival organizers issued the following statement:
“Download Festival will no longer be taking place this year. “We’ve been closely monitoring this unprecedented situation and it’s become clear that it just isn’t possible for the 2020 festival to go ahead. This decision hasn’t been taken lightly and we’re beyond disappointed, we extend our heartfelt apologies to all of you — we really did try to make this work.
“Please rest assured we will be back next year,” statement continues. “Now, more than ever, we need the Download spirit to thrive and offer support to those that need it most. We’ll do our best to put together an amazing line up for you in 2021 and can’t wait to see you all then. Thank you, as ever, for your continued support.
“We are working closely with our ticketing partners now and they will be in touch very soon to process your refund, or, if you prefer, you can retain your ticket and carry it over to next year. Look out for an e-mail from your ticketing agent very soon and please only contact them if you have not been contacted after 5 days as they are very busy at this time.”
Festival was set to take place on June 12-14 at Castle Donington, with headlining performances by IRON MAIDEN, KISS and SYSTEM OF A DOWN.
Earlier this month, 2020 edition of the Australia’s Download festival announced cancellation as well.
The pandemic’s global death toll has reached over 22,000, while the global number of cases has surpassed 488,000, according to the WHO, which is the health agency of the United Nations.
