Austin City Limits has joined the ranks of major music festivals to be canceled because of the coronavirus.
Festival organizers said in a statement on July 1 that scrapping the three-day October event was “the only responsible solution.” The announcement comes amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Texas, with the state reporting another daily high on June 30 of 7,000 new confirmed cases and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott urging people to stay home.
The festival is one of the largest in the country each year. A lineup had not been announced, but last year’s headliners included Guns N’ Roses, Cardi B, Billie Eilish and The Cure.
The Coachella music festival in California and Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee will also not take place this year.
The cancellation is another big loss for Austin’s tourism economy. The city’s South By Southwest festival, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, was canceled in March as the virus first began to spread in Texas.
The Texas Tribune reported the Austin City Limits Music Festival 2019 Economic Impact Report showed that in 2019 the festival contributed $291 million to the city’s economy and created or sustained at least 1,500 jobs across bars and restaurants, hotels and transportation. The total attendance at the two-weekend event last year was around 400,000.
ACL Festival organizers said on a Twitter post that ticket holders for this years festival will be able to use them for next year’s event. Refunds will be made available to ticket holders who will be unable to attend the festival in 2021, which will be held in Austin’s Zilker Park on October 1-3 and 8-10, 2021. The event will celebrate it’s 20-year anniversary next year.
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