07 Mar SXSW 2020 cancelled by City of Austin TX
SXSW 2020 Officially Cancelled for COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
The Music Industry had already been affected by the Coronavirus in several countries, and now the US’s beloved SXSW Festival is another music cancellation for 2020.
The city of Austin, TX officially cancelled the event. The Festival is of course following the city’s orders.
Its hard to argue with public safety- but is there anything worth questioning here? People travel worldwide for SXSW, so even if someone hasn’t been in an infected area this would put them in airports and on planes where other travelers may have been to infected areas. And if someone at the festival was carrying COVID-19, it could be easy to spread simply by being surrounded by so many people at a music festival.
By now, we’ve probably all seen the CDC’s warning about hand washing and not touching your face when in public. The CDC has also requested that anyone infected stay home and away from other animals or humans. But what if you didn’t know you have COVID-19? The symptoms aren’t anything radical- a cough and maybe a fever. So it is possible someone traveling to SXSW could have coronoavirus without knowing it and contaminate the surrounding public during the music festival performances, events and activities. SXSW takes place at several music venues around Austin, TX.
Being cautious with a virus that isn’t easily caught or cured is admirable of the City of Austin- its an extremely tough decision to make knowing its effects on the music industry. The musicians and bands that were scheduled for this, counting on the income, planning wardrobe, booking travel and accommodations- its not easy to just drop all of that work. But, its our job as artists, music fans, festival vendors etc to carry on.
And just a reminder- we shouldn’t judge others who have caught coronavirus or who have travelled to infected areas. We’re all humans trying to live our best lives and since there’s a lot of us- its hard to always know who is around us, no matter what pre-cautions we take.
SXSW 2020 Music Festival Officially Cancelled
If you were planning to attend SXSW 2020 or you live near Austin, you can still visit and spend money at local restaurants, clubs and area attractions. These small businesses count on annual tourists to the festival- lots of towns rely on this income.
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