The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is moving from October 2021 to April of 2022, according to Variety.
This information is reported to have come from two industry sources with knowledge of the situation, and it is also expected that the country-music themed Stagecoach festival – which takes place the weekend after Coachella’s two weekends – will move as well.
The speculation is yet to be confirmed by the festival’s promoter Goldenvoice, or its parent company AEG.
According to the sources, the decision to reschedule the event is due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and uncertainty about the logistics of holding a large-scale event during this time.
Coachella sells 125,000 tickets a day across both weekends, so would require navigating a large number of Covid-safety challenges.
If the move is confirmed, this will be the fourth time the festival has changed its dates.
“There’s a big difference between having two weekend of Coachella in California and throwing a country festival in Florida,” a source told Variety.
In January 2020, Riverside County public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser signed a cancelation order which scrapped any hope for the April 2021 dates.
“This order is intended to reduce the likelihood of exposure to COVID-19, thereby slowing the spread of COVID-19 in communities worldwide,” he said.
“If Covid-19 were detected at these festivals, the scope and number of attendees and the nature of the venue would make it infeasible, if not impossible, to track those who may be placed at risk.”
In its earnings call last month, Live Nation said it is expecting outdoor and smaller concerts in the US to return in the late summer, while the UK is expecting that nightclubs and large events can reopen by June 21.