Download Festival Australia has officially been cancelled for 2020 amidst coronavirus concerns. Exclusive headliners My Chemical Romance have needed to pull out of the lineup, leaving organisers without enough time to secure a replacement headliner.

MCR have released the following statement today:

“To our dearest friends –
It is with heavy hearts that we have decided to postpone our performances in Australia and New Zealand. We felt this was the right decision for our fans, our band, our crew, and our families given the current global situation. We apologize to our fans, but please know that we didn’t come to this decision lightly. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to being with you all again as soon as we can.  In the meantime, please be good to each other.” 

Download have released this statement of their own:

"Given that this announcement has come barely 8 days prior to Download Australia we will not be able to secure an alternative headliner as there is insufficient time to secure visas and arrange the other relevant logistics that are required prior to the festival.

 

As we are unable to deliver a complete line-up to meet the standard that Download fans both expect and deserve, we have very reluctantly made the decision to cancel Download Australia 2020.

 

The Download team has been working around the clock to create an unforgettable experience for heavy music fans and we are devastated not be able to deliver this show to Australian Downloaders as planned.

 

We are currently working with both My Chemical Romance and Deftones to schedule separate headline shows in Australia in 2020 and will update you all as soon as we have these.  

 

We are also working with a number of artists who have official Download side shows scheduled, to add headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne next week, stay tuned for these dates.

 

All ticket purchasers to the Download Melbourne and Sydney 2020 events will receive a full refund including booking and payment processing fees.

 

We appreciate that the decision to cancel Download Australia will cause huge disappointment and may create major difficulty for ticket holders, for which we sincerely apologise.

 

Moshtix will contact account holders on Monday 16th March via email with information regarding the refund process. We apologise for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience. For any questions relating to your Download ticket purchase, please contact Moshtix directly https://tixsupport.moshtix.com.au/"

The festival joins a long list of events around the world which have been forced to cancel or postpone due to the spread of COVID-19, which has now infected over 127,000 people and killed over 4,700. It has also been delcared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.


We'll keep you updated on any further developments.