The rise in COVID-19 has had a huge effect on the entertainment industry. Events and movie releases are being cancelled or postponed, and it’s all getting quite confusing. So, without further ado, here’s an article which will be updated regularly listing the biggest changes that are taking place.
Wash your hands, folks!
Last updated: 5th April 2020, 4pm
Concerts
- Stormzy has rescheduled the Asia leg of his ‘Heavy is the Head World Tour’, and cancelled his gig last week in Zurich, as the government have banned events with over 1,000 people there. As a result, Avril Lavigne and Sam Fender are among other artists who have had to cancel Zurich shows.
- Louis Tomlinson cancelled a show in Milan on 11th March, but has assured fans he will be back in July to compensate. Mabel also cancelled a show in Milan back in February.
- *UPDATE* Louis announced on 12th March that he has postponed his entire European tour until August
- Madonna has cancelled two shows in Paris on 10th and 11th March, as France has also banned gatherings of over 1,000 people.
- A bush fire relief concert in Australia which was set to be headlined by Miley Cyrus on 13th March has been cancelled, but she has promised donations to help victims of the bush fires in compensation.
- Pearl Jam have indefinitely postponed their shows across the US and Canada, which were due to take place across March and April.
- The Who are the first band to have cancelled their entire UK and Ireland tour – it was due to begin on March 16th in Manchester, but all 10 shows are set to be rescheduled.
- Billie Eilish has postponed all her remaining March tour dates in the US, and is expected to announce new dates soon.
- Mumford and Sons have postponed their Teenage Cancer Trust show which was due to take place on 23rd March at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
- The Plain White T’s have cancelled their gig at The Joiners on 17th March
- Korpiklaani + Burning Witches have cancelled their gig at The 1865 on 18th March
- IDLES have postponed their gig at The 1865 from 19th March to 3rd June – all tickets will still be valid, or refunds can be obtained from point of sale.
- My Chemical Romance have cancelled their Japan, Australia and New Zealand tour dates.
- MIKA has cancelled his North and South America tour dates.
- SLOTFACE have cancelled their show at The Joiners on 14th March
- The Joiners announced on 17th March that all shows from 23rd March – 7th April have been cancelled or postponed
- Elton John and Foo Fighters have both postponed their respective US tours
- Liam Gallagher’s homecoming show in Manchester in June has been cancelled.
- Elbow’s entire UK tour has been pushed back from April to September/October.
- Blossoms have rescheduled their March tour for August.
- The Killers have decided not to sell tickets for their 2020/21 tour yet, as have Biffy Clyro.
- Harry Styles has rescheduled his 2020 tour dates for early 2021
Festivals
- Coachella Festival in California has been rescheduled from April to October, as has country music festival Stagecoach
- SXSW Festival, which was due to take place 13th-22nd March in Austin, Texas, has been cancelled. There are plans to live stream some performances by Welsh acts from a smaller venue in Cardiff.
- Tomorrowland Festival, which was due to take place 14th-21st March in the French Alps, has been cancelled. The summer edition, which takes place in Belgium in July, is still set to go ahead.
- The Prague International Film Festival has been cancelled.
- Snowbombing Festival in Austria, which was due to be headlined by Liam Gallagher in April, has been cancelled.
- Tribeca Film Festival, which was due to take place in April, has been postponed. A new date has not yet been given.
- Radio 1’s Big Weekend has been cancelled. It was due to take place in Dundee in May.
- The Australian version of Download Festival has been cancelled, following the news that My Chemical Romance, the headliners, had cancelled their appearance at the festival.
- Glastonbury Festival has been cancelled this year – it was due to be headlined by Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar and Sir Paul McCartney.
- Tom Kerridge’s summer Pub in the Park festival series has been postponed until mid August through September – check their website for individual locations and date changes.
- Parklife festival which was due to take place in Manchester in June has been cancelled.
- All Points East has been cancelled.
- Neighbourhood Weekender in Warrington has been cancelled. It was originally due to take place in May and headlined by Catfish and the Bottlemen and Ian Brown.
- Download Festival has been cancelled.
- This Is Tomorrow in Newcastle have been pushed back to August.
- Isle of Wight Festival has been cancelled but will be back in June 2021.
- Lovebox Festival has been cancelled.
Films
- Bond 25, No Time To Die, has been delayed from April to November.
- Peter Rabbit 2 was pushed back from 27th March to 7th August – it has since been pushed even further to January 2021.
- A three-week shoot in Italy for Mission: Impossible 7 has been delayed.
- A Quiet Place 2, wish was meant to be released on 19th March, has been delayed. A new release date has not yet been given.
- Fast and Furious 9, which was due to be released in May, has been pushed back to April 2021.
- Mulan‘s release date has been pushed back from it’s original 27th March release date – it will now be released in July.
- The New Mutants has been pushed back yet again due to Coronavirus – its release date has changed several times as it was initially due for release in 2018. No new date has been given thus far, but it is expected later in 2020.
- Antlers has been pushed back from 17th April, with no new date given thus far
- Netflix have cancelled production on all scripted TV shows and films in Canada and the US for at least two weeks
- Black Widow has been pushed back from its original 1st May release date – no new date has been given.
- The new Artemis Fowl movie will be ditching cinemas altogether in favour of a Disney+ release
Television
- Production for the fourth series of Riverdale has been suspended after a member of the production team reportedly came into contact with somebody who tested positive for Coronavirus.
- US talk shows:
- Filming has been suspended on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Late Night With Seth Myers – all are due to start again around 30th March
- Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The View are continuing without studio audiences
- Line of Duty filming has been postponed
- *UPDATE 18th March* all BBC continuous drama has been suspended until further notice – including EastEnders
- Many ITV shows like Loose Women and Saturday Night Takeaway have banned studio audiences – the finale of the latter was due to take place in Florida, but has instead been pre-recorded in the UK. Those with ‘a place on the plane’ have been promised that their tickets will be valid for a later date.
- Emmerdale and Coronation Street have suspended filming. Like EastEnders, they are airing fewer shows per week during the pandemic in order to keep going for as long as possible.
Albums
- Sam Smith has postponed their third album indefinitely, feeling that the title To Die For and other themes within the album should be changed due to the current climate.
Theatre Performances
- Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella production in the West End has been pushed back to October, instead of the summer.
- Broadway performances between 12th March and 13th April have been cancelled.
- Southampton’s Mayflower theatre have stopped all performances until 3rd May
- NST Theatres will be closed until 26th April
Other events
- Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle has been indefinitely postponed. It was due to take place 12th-16th March.
- RuPaul’s DragCon LA has been cancelled for this year, and is set to return in 2021.
- The London Book Fair, which was due to take place 10th-12th March, has been cancelled.
- Gaming expo E3, which was due to take place in June, has been cancelled.
- All Call of Duty Live 2020 events have been moved online only.
- The BAFTA Game Awards will be a live stream rather than a red carpet ceremony on 2nd April
- EGX Rezzed is being moved from 26th-28th March to Summer 2020.
- Overwatch League have cancelled all events throughout March and April.
- Record Store Day 2020 was due to take place on 18th April, but has been postponed to 20th June.
- The BAFTA TV and Craft awards have been postponed until later in 2020.
- Brighton Pride 2020 has been cancelled.
Celebrity Diagnoses
- MP and author Nadine Dorries revealed she was diagnosed on 10th March
- Actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita have been diagnosed in Australia, as revealed in an Instagram post on 12th March
- Idris Elba announced he had been diagnosed after spending time with Sophie Trudeau, who has also tested positive. He revealed that he tested as a precaution and had not actually had any symptoms.
- Frozen 2 actress Rachel Matthews revealed her diagnosis in an Instagram post on 16th March
- Quantum of Solace Bond girl Olga Kurylenko revealed her diagnosis on 15th March
- Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid is self-isolating after someone she lived with began displaying symptoms. As yet, she has not tested positive, but is following government self-isolation guidelines as a precaution.
- Bon Jovi’s keyboardist David Bryan has tested positive for the virus.
- Game of Thrones star Kristofer Hivjou tested positive in Norway.
- Pink and her three-year-old son tested positive and isolated for two weeks before thankfully testing negative. She has since condemned the lack of testing available to other people
- Christopher Cross has had the illness and described it as ‘possibly the worst illness I’ve ever had’
- Sara Bareilles and some of her Waitress castmates contracted the illness. She has since fully recovered.
- Comedian Eddie Large unfortunately passed away from Coronavirus complications at the age of 78 on 2nd April. He was best known as part of the comedy duo Little and Large.
- Veteran actor Mark Blum, who is known for roles in Desperately Seeking Susan and more recently YOU on Netflix, passed away from the virus on 25th March.
