The Coronavirus outbreak has hit a pause button for the entertainment industry right now as the pandemic spreads to more people and countries. Since March, the governments and organizations have been declaring restrictions on mass gathering in efforts to prevent spreading of the virus. This resulted in cancellation, reschedule or modification of many concerts, festivals, sporting games, film and TV shoots across the globe.
While some of the events like Agam Unplugged and the Bahrain Comic-Con have been postponed, others have been called off due to uncertainty surrounding the pandemic. Although initially the events that were scheduled between the months of March and June were cancelled, tours or concerts that are set in the later months, including Harry Styles’ “Love on Tour” and Camila Cabello’s “Romance Tour”, have also fallen victim now. Covid-19 even claimed Tokyo Olympics 2020, the first Summer Olympics to be cancelled since World War II.
Have you been planning to attend any of these events or were even interested to watch them remotely? Read on to know all the details of the popular and most-awaited events across the world.
Events
2020 Olympics
After weeks of discussions, authorities have decided to postpone the 2020 Summer Olympics, to be held in Tokyo, until 2021.
The International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government reached consensus that the games will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021 and will still be called the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The new date for the Paralympic Games will be August 24 to September 5, 2021.
This is the first time the games are being cancelled in 124 years. Before this, the Olympic games were cancelled thrice – 1916, 1940 and 1944 – during World War I and World War II.
Bahrain Comic Con
The biggest pop culture event has been postponed indefinitely against its schedule of April 17 and 18 at the Bahrain International Circuit. The organizers had to reschedule the event after having announced La Casa De Papel fame Luka Peros and popular content creator Just Sul as two of the chief guests.
French Open
The Roland-Garros tournament, popularly known as the French Open, has been pushed ahead from its earlier scheduled date of May 24. The clay-court Grand Slam tournament will now take place from September 20 to October 4 this year.
As per the latest updates, Wimbledon 2020 is also cancelled. This is the first time that the tournament has not been held since World War II.
Cannes Film Festival 2020
The 73rd annual Cannes Film Festival has been cancelled in the wake of the pandemic. Originally set to take place from May 12 to 23, 2020, the festival halted plans for a ‘physical’ edition for 2020 and will select films for screening at other film festivals.
Meanwhile, the venue of the film festival has been turned into a homeless shelter during France’s lockdown.
The 2020 Billboard Music Awards
The NBC released a statement that 2020 Billboard Music Awards have been postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic. It was earlier scheduled to go live on NBC on April 29. The award show is one of the most popular music events that bring all the music favourites in one place.
Agam Unplugged
The popular South Indian rock band, Agam, were to perform in Bahrain for the first time on February 27. However, the organizers were forced to postpone the event to a later date, which is yet to be announced.
Red Sea International Film Festival
The inaugural event of the Red Sea International Film Festival in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been postponed. The organizers stated that the new dates of the festival will be announced as soon as it is feasible.
Gipsy Kings by Andre Reyes
The popular Spanish pop music group Gipsy Kings were expected to perform for a crowd of over 3,000 people. However, the event had to be postponed indefinitely owing to the ongoing circumstances. The band has also called off its concerts across the globe including the one scheduled in Australia.
International Book Fair
Due to take place in April between 15 and 21, the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at the National Exhibition Centre has been postponed. The 30th edition of the book fair will now take place in 2021.
World Triathlon Series
The 2020 World Triathlon Series to be held in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island has been postponed to a later date. The organising committee is yet to decide on the dates which will see over 300 athletes participating in the sporting event.
GCC Games
Kuwait has postponed GCC Games to December after it was originally planned to take place in April. The regional multi-sport tournament features football, volleyball, basketball, and swimming among others.
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has suspended the playing season ‘until further notice’.
F1 Powerboat World Championship
The Formula 1 Powerboat World Championship to be held in Saudi Arabia has been postponed indefinitely.
Besides the above-mentioned events, the pandemic has also brought to stop the production of other entertainment sources like the below list of movies and shows.
Movies
Mission: Impossible 7, Netflix’s The Prom (Meryl Streep & Nicole Kidman), Jurassic World: Dominion, Flint Strong, Netflix’s Red Notice (Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot & Ryan Reynolds, Vengeance (Ashton Kutcher), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, WandaVision, Cinderella (Camila Cabello), Avatar 2, The Batman, Fantastic Beasts 3, King Richard, The Matrix 4, THe Little Mermaid, Shang-Chi, Home Alone, Last Duel, Nightmare Alley, Shrunk, and Peter Pan & Wendy
TV Shows
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, and The Ellen Show, Jeopardy!, Saturday Night Live
Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings, Netflix shows: The Witcher, Stranger Things 4 and Sex/Life, The Handmaid’s Tale, Loki, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, The Riverdale, Fargo, The Flash, Lucifer, Law & Order: SVU, American Housewife, Big Shot, Empire, Pose, The Resident, Queen of the South, Barry, Succession, Friends Reunion, EastEnders, and Tokyo Vice
