As it becomes clear that the entire 2020 summer festival season is off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, organisers of another flagship event in the UK festival calendar have now confirmed that their 2020 edition is cancelled. And, with the cancellation of Reading/Leeds, that means the impact of the COVID-19 shutdown is now reaching to the end of August.
Live Nation-owned Festival Republic confirmed yesterday that both the Reading Festival and the Leeds Festival "will no longer be taking place this year".
It added: "We've been closely monitoring this unprecedented situation and we were hopeful we could deliver the ultimate festival to you in August, something to look forward to in these strange and confusing times. However, it has become clear that it's just not possible for this year's festival to go ahead".
"We want to extend our gratitude to our teams, artists and partners who work so hard each year", the statement continued. "And to our fans, we're nothing without you - we thank you for your continued support and understanding".
Festival Republic added that its ticketing providers would be in touch with ticketholders to arrange either a refund or for their ticket to be transferred to 2021 editions. "We're already counting down the days to when we're back in the fields we call home for the August Bank holiday weekend", it said. "We promise you that Reading/Leeds 2021 will be worth the wait".