BST Hyde Park has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The annual music festival was due to take place across two weekends in July – between the 3rd and 12th – in London’s Hyde Park, but due to the current global health crisis, organisers have decided to axe the event for this year.
In a statement posted to social media, organisers wrote: "It is with great sadness that we have made the difficult decision to cancel BST Hyde Park 2020.
"After closely following government actions and statements during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as consulting with our partners The Royal Parks and other agencies, we have concluded that this is the only possible outcome. This would have been the eighth year of this event and we were looking forward to putting on amazing, unique shows for hundreds of thousands of fans in the world’s greatest outdoor venue. But safety always comes first."
Organisers of the event – which was due to see the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Pearl Jam, Taylor Swift, Little Mix, Kesha, and Rita Ora take to the stage – also took the time to thank the emergency services who usually work alongside them at the festival, as well as the staff who were due to keep the festival running.
They added: "In addition to the government rightly enforcing a prolonged period of social isolation, we would not want to place any extra strain on the emergency services, who we are lucky enough to have working alongside us at our events. We have the utmost respect for them and wish to express our admiration for their dedication and professionalism, which is proving so vital at this time.
"We also have a responsibility to our staff, fans, event workers, suppliers and sponsors, so we have been closely monitoring all developments before making a final decision. We would like to thank them for their excellent work and we look forward to seeing you all next year when we can celebrate once again."
Ticketholders will be contacted directly for refunds, and organisers have said they plan to bring back the event in 2021.
Closing their statement, they wrote: "You will be contacted directly by the ticket agent you purchased from by 6th May allowing us time to review future plans and provide full information on the ticket refund process. If you have not been contacted about a refund by your ticket agent by this date please get in touch with them directly, bearing in mind they will be extremely busy at this time.
"We look forward to welcoming you back in 2021 and will be in touch about plans soon. In the meantime, please follow the advice and stay safe."
BST Hyde Park has been cancelled
