Glastonbury, Edinburgh Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival Announce Cancellations or Postponements

The festivals were due to begin in June 2020

By Isabella DeLeo  |  March 18, 2020 | 11:42am
Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty
Music News coronavirus
Glastonbury, Edinburgh Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival Announce Cancellations or Postponements

Another wave of cancellations or postponements due to coronavirus has hit the entertainment world: Events including Glastonbury Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival and Sydney Film Festival are among the latest affected by the pandemic. Organizers made announcements on Wednesday, March 18, that these festivals, all originally scheduled for sometime in June 2020, would either be postponed or canceled.

In a statement, Emily Eavis and Michael Eavis, the co-organizers of Glastonbury announced the festival’s cancellation, saying, “Clearly this was not a course of action we hoped to take for our 50th anniversary event, but following the new government measures announced this week—and in times of such unprecedented uncertainty—this is now our only viable option.”

Boris Johnson moved to cancel large gatherings like music festivals in the U.K. on Friday, March 13. Glastonbury, which would have taken place starting on June 24, was set to feature headliners Kendrick Lamar, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross and Taylor Swift.

The Edinburgh International Film Festival, which was set to begin on June 17, will be postponed. Ken Hay, the festival’s CEO, said, “It is with huge regret that we have taken the necessary decision to postpone the 74th Edinburgh International Film Festival. Film festivals are critical platforms for films and filmmakers to reach and engage with audiences, and EIFF has done this uninterrupted for 74 years. However the health and wellbeing of our staff, filmmaker guests and audiences has to be the first consideration.” Hay added that a 2020 Edinburgh International Film Festival could theoretically happen, but it won’t proceed in June as originally scheduled.

Following a recent New South Wales public health order that bans gatherings of 500 people, this year’s edition of the Sydney Film Festival will also be canceled. In a statement, Nashen Moodley, the Festival Director, wrote, “Sydney Film Festival will return in 2021 with a more crucial role than ever before. In changing and challenging times, the Festival is proud to be the forum where we collectively discover and discuss the world and our times through the medium of film.” The festival was originally set to begin on June 3.

Follow Paste’s ongoing coverage of music festival and event cancellations here, as well as our running list of film and TV productions affected by the outbreak..

 
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