Tons of Artists Are Cancelling Shows Because of Coronavirus
Credit to Author: Drew Schwartz| Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2020 20:22:09 +0000
Coronavirus has spread to at least 53 countries across the globe, infecting upwards of 82,000 people and leaving more than 2,800 dead. As cases of the illness continue to rise, so, too, does fear about contracting and spreading it—leading a number of musicians to cancel or postpone tour dates in regions that have been hit the hardest. Here are a handful of artists who have already decided to change their plans because of the virus.
Asia
Green Day
The band had been scheduled to play in Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Taipei, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan, with shows slated through the end of March—but on Friday, they postponed that leg of their tour "due to the health + travel concerns with coronavirus." They plan to reschedule those shows, though there's no word on when they might announce new dates.
BTS
The K-pop group canceled a slate of shows in Seoul, South Korea, on April 11, 12, 18, and 19, writing in a statement that it was "impossible at this time to predict the scale of the outbreak during the dates of the concert in April." They asked folks who bought tickets for any of those dates to contact their ticket provider.
"While we hope that the situation will improve, we must take into consideration the health and safety of hundreds of thousands of guests as well as our artists and the dire impact a last-minute cancellation may have on guests from overseas, production companies, and staff," the statement reads. "We have thus determined that with approximately one month left before the Seoul concert is set to begin, it is unavoidable that the concert must be cancelled without further delay.”
Stormzy
The UK rapper postponed the Asian leg of his tour, which would've taken him to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia. He's promised to reschedule the dates, though there's no word on when he might announce a new slate of shows.
"I was seriously looking forward to bringing the #HITH world tour to Asia and playing some epic sold-out shows but due to the ongoing health and travel concerns surrounding the coronavirus, I’m regrettably having to reschedule this leg of the tour," he reportedly wrote on Twitter.
The Pixies
The band called off a series of performances in Japan and China, and it's not clear whether the shows have been canceled or postponed. They were slated to play in Yokohama, Tokyo, and Osaka, then trek to China and hit Shanghai, Beijing, and Kowloon. Their tour picks back up on March 6, when they'll play Auckland, New Zealand.
Ari Lennox
The singer postponed a show she was scheduled to play in Tokyo on March 3 "due to travel restrictions in several Asian countries." The rest of her tour is still a go; she'll be in Auckland on March 10.
Mac Demarco
While he didn't release a statement explicitly stating why, the singer-songwriter canceled his entire Japan tour, which would have seen him play Sapporo, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka in Japan.
Stereolab
The band postponed its tour in China, calling off shows in Shanghai and Beijing in mid-March. In a statement, they wrote that they are "still hoping to reschedule these shows," and asked fans to "watch this space for news."
Khalid
The R&B singer-songwriter postponed his Asian tour, which would've taken him to Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai, and Bangalore. His booking company announced that it was "actively working on rescheduled concert dates, with more information to be announced soon" on his website.
New Order
The band postponed its shows in Tokyo and Osaka, and while it sounds like they plan on rescheduling them, there's no word on when that might happen.
Italy
Testament, Exodus, and Death Angel
The legendary metal bands canceled their show in Italy, which has seen the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of Asia. They were slated to play Milan on February 25.
Mabel
The pop star also had to cancel her show in Milan, which she was booked to play on February 24. She told fans she's hoping to reschedule.
As worrisome as all that might seem—combined with the World Health Organization raising its risk assessment of coronavirus to "very high," and the CDC announcing that an outbreak in the US is a "when," not "if" situation—it's still not time to panic. In the vast majority of cases, the symptoms of coronavirus aren't much more debilitating than the flu; for most people, they're on par with the common cold. And taking precautions is a lot simpler than you might think.
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This article originally appeared on VICE US.