Peak prediction: Cherry blossom Festival will be lonely
Also cancelled
Madonna hung up on Madame X
Pearl Jam reschedules Gigaton world tour
Planners of all types of events around the world and would-be attendees are now united by the same conundrum: to party, or not to party.
More importantly- is a public gathering worth the risk of spreading the new coronavirus?
From Pearl Jam’s world tour to Japan’s month long Cherry blossom Festival, cultural events around the world are being modified or cancelled, as organisers face the music.
Here are some big gigs that were disrupted:
Jethro Tull want you to watch out for the storm
Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson Shutterstock
Madonna YouTube/Madonna
Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder AP
Peak bloom is when 70% of the Yoshino cherry trees on the National Mall in DC are fully flowering Shutterstock
Green Day Official Grammys page
In a tweet on Monday, Jethro Tull flautist and frontman Ian Anderson wrote to fans and ticketholders, saying that their concerts have been postponed to November, after health authorities closed two theatres in Italy.
The typed-out note read, “Jethro Tull will now perform in Torino on November 3rd and Legnano on November 5th”.
The alternative dates are the earliest period during which the band and crew are both available.
‘Vacate’ could well be the word for Pearl Jam, who decided to play truant by postponing the North American leg of its Gigaton world tour, much to their dismay. The band was set to embark on the international tour later this month, with Toronto (March 18) being the first stop, reports Breakfast Television Toronto.
The grunge veterans were ‘deeply upset’, the BBC reports, to call off their tour, and also ciriticised the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak in the US, where 26 people have died so far.
Cherry blossoms will be springing into bloom, but without the viewers.
The iconic ‘hanami’ (flower-viewing) festivals, which attract millions every year, have been cancelled across Japan. At a time when parks would normally heave with revellers, and food and drink flow liberally, Tokyo’s government has called on residents to refrain from holding blossom-viewing parties, reports Fortune.com
Peak bloom is when 70% of the Yoshino cherry trees on the National Mall in DC are fully flowering, and it is one of the dates blossom watchers anticipate every year. This year peak bloom is expected around March 27-30th, but will be a quieter affair.
Traditional cherry blossom festivals are normally one of the country’s top tourist draws, and by one estimate have an economic impact of more than 650 billion yen ($6 billion), the report says.
But while Japan took caution and cancelled its own celebrations, the National Cherry Blossom Festival in the US’ D.C. area will not be sacrificed to fears of a possible virus outbreak, reports the DC Post.
Other big names who have all cancelled or rescheduled their shows are Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey, Avril Lavigne, BTS, Green Day, Slipknot, and Foals, reports Sky News. All the shows were slated to take place from March through May this year.
La Isla Bonita singer Madonna’s Madame X Tour has come to an abrupt halt as new restrictions on public gatherings are being implemented in France.
The two remaining dates of her tour, March 10 and 11 in Paris, have been scrapped.
“Following official notification from the Office of the Police this morning prohibiting all events with an audience attendance of more than 1000, Live Nation regrets to announce the final two Madame X performances previously re-scheduled to 10 March and 11 March are forced to be cancelled,” reads a note on Madonna’s website.
The message also advises that those who brought tickets will be able to obtain a refund at the point of purchase.
Billboard.com reports that previously, the 61-year-old singer cancelled shows on March 1 and March 7, as a result of “ongoing injuries”.
'If only knees didn’t twist and cartilage didn’t tear and nothing hurt and tears never fell out of our eyes,” she wrote in a lengthy Instagram post explaining the cancellation to fans. “But alas they do.”
Adding that their thoughts are with the Italian public at a time of ‘stress and uncertainty’, the note mentioned that during tours in other countries, the band was at the mercy of local restrictions, should they be put in place.
Italy has suffered the worst coronavirus outbreak outside of Asia, where the government has ordered a lockdown of its northern region, reports Fortune.com
While ascertaining that the band and its promoters will not be the ones to initiate cancellation or postponement of any concerts, it said local governments may, adding that “Your health and well-being is most important, and so we all have to accept any such changes to our schedule”.
We understand, Ian, we’re on stormwatch!
CNN reports the band’s website now listing all dates as cancelled through the end of April, although international shows scheduled to begin June 23 in Germany are still on. The cancelled shows will be rescheduled for a later date, the band said, without specifying when.
The band said its concerns stem from the impact the virus has had in Seattle. The city is in King County, the epicenter of the US outbreak. Schools and businesses across Washington State —where there have been at least 180 cases and 22 deaths — have closed as the outbreak has spread.