LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A week after growing coronavirus concerns postponed the Korea Times Music Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, reports have surfaced speculating how the virus could impact the upcoming Southern Califonia music festival season.
According to the Los Angeles Times, artists, booking agents, and promoters are keeping an eye on the disease's spread.
"It's so hard to tell. This was going to be one of the busiest summers ever for festivals and stadium shows, so any disruption is going to have an impact," Dave Brooks, senior director of live and touring for Billboard told The Times.
"If there are cancellations, and if it's a down year for the industry, [top concert promoters] Live Nation and AEG could probably weather it, but it could be a death knell for some independent promoters."
On Friday, South by Southwest announced that the Austin, Texas-based popular film, music, and media festival was officially canceled by the City of Austin.
"The City of Austin has cancelled the March dates for SXSW and SXSW EDU. SXSW will faithfully follow the City's directions," the festival announced.
"We are devastated to share this news with you. "The show must go on" is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place. We are now working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation," the festival wrote on their website.
According to The Times, Kim Saruwatari, director of public health for Riverside County, said the county is well aware of how COVID-19 might affect Indio's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival that is scheduled for April 10-12 and 17-19.
"One of our tasks is to survey any large event in the county over the next several months, and we've been reaching out to organizers to have conversations. We're not ready to pull the trigger on anything, but we want to make sure we can protect the community," Saruwatari told The Times.
The organizers of the Korea Times Music Festival, which was scheduled to take place on April 25, announced the 18th annual event was postponed "due to increasing uncertainty threat of coronavirus and out of concern for the health and safety for all artists, fans, and staff."
Days later, K-pop sensation BTS canceled shows in Korea which were meant to kick off their "Map of the Soul" world tour.
The band has two shows scheduled at the Rose Bowl on May 2 and 3. It was not immediately clear if the canceled Korea shows would impact any other parts of the tour.
On Wednesday, health officials in Los Angeles County declared a public health emergency over the novel coronavirus as six new cases, including a medical screener at Los Angeles International Airport, were confirmed Tuesday night, raising the total number of confirmed local cases to seven.
