NEW ORLEANS — A day after Mayor LaToya Cantrell recommended all large events in 2020 be cancelled in the city because of the coronavirus, ESSENCE announced they will no longer hold this year's annual festival.
“New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell bravely recommended yesterday that no large events take place in New Orleans in 2020, and ESSENCE fully supports that decision," organizers said in a statement Wednesday.
ESSENCE Festival organizers say they will honor all tickets sold for the 2020 Festival in 2021 and will also offer full refunds. More information can be found on the festival website.
Organizers said they came to the decision after working with city and state officials and tracking the progression of COVID-19 across Louisiana and the country.
"While we initially hoped that a reschedule from our July 2020 dates to later in the fall would be feasible, current information and projections by public health officials and agencies have made it increasingly clear that any large-scale events this year could potentially and unnecessarily put attendees and surrounding communities at risk," organizers said.
This year's festival will move online for the "ESSENCE Festival of Culture: The Virtual Edition" and will still take place over Fourth of July weekend on the new ESSENCE Studios streaming platform. It will be a part of the ‘ESSENCE Benefit Series to Fight COVID-19.' Proceeds will benefit the City of New Orleans, which has hosted the festival for 26 years.
"My recommendation is absolutely no large events such as French Quarter Fest and Jazz Fest, even Essence Festival (in 2020)," Cantrell said at a Tuesday press conference about the state of the city amidst the coronavirus outbreak. "The focus should shift to 2021."
ESSENCE's cancellation could be an early indicator for other large festivals like Jazz Fest and French Quarter, which so far have been postponed until the fall, moving forward.
BUKU Festival, the mid-March music festival at Mardi Gras World, was initially postponed until Labor Day but was later cancelled for the year.
Visit essence.com for more information. In addition, their editorial team is producing daily content on our dedicated page to educate the community on the coronavirus, its impact, best practices for prevention and how we can not only survive, but thrive, through this time.
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