Primavera Sound 2020 canceled

Primavera Sound organisers have decided in the end to cancel this year's edition in Barcelona due to the coronavirus crisis, after initially postponing the festival from June to the end of August.

The celebration of the 20th anniversary of one of Catalonia's biggest and most famous festivals will now take in Barcelona between June 2-6, 2021.

Tickets purchased this year will be valid for next year's festival, and will include "special benefits for those who decide to keep them."

Ticket holders will be able to apply for a refund from June 3, on which date the first artists for next year's line up will be announced. 

The organisers cited "reasons of force majeure" in a statement announcing the cancelation on Monday, in which they described the decision as "the most difficult" in their history.

The 2020 lineup was to feature artists such as Tyler, The Creator, Lana del Rey, The Strokes, Massive Attack, BROCKHAMPTON, Caribou, The National, Beck, and Iggy Pop.

A digital edition of  PrimaveraPro, a "meeting for professionals in the music industry," will take place in July of this year. 

From defiance to reality

In March, Primavera Sound signed a joint statement with dozens of other European music festivals in which they pledged to hold this summer's editions in spite of the public health emergency.

Within days, however, the organization announced that the event would be postponed, taking place between August 26 and August 30 in the same venue, Parc del Fòrum.

In the end, and following warnings from both Barcelona city council and the Catalan government that the festival was unlikely to go ahead, organizers were forced admit that cancelation was the only option.

Primavera Sound is far from the only music event to be affected by the coronavirus crisis. The latest status of several of Catalonia's favourite festivals can be found here.