Coachella music festival postponed until October due to coronavirus

April festival, set to be headlined by Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean, is postponed until October

California's Coachella music festival has been postponed to October, but insiders now claim it could be pushed back again to 2021. Getty Images

Coachella, one of the world's biggest music festivals, is being postponed in a bid to control the spread of the coronavirus.

The festival, which takes places across two weekends in April each year in Indio, California, will now take place over the weekends of October 9 and October 16, organisers said.

The line-up for the original festival, which was due to take place over the April 10 and April 19 weekends, remains the same.

Headliners this year include Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean. Calvin Harris, Lana Del Rey and Lewis Capaldi are also set to perform.

It has been reported that talks began between festival promoters Goldenvoice and officials on Sunday evening to prevent the 2020 festival from being cancelled altogether.

It seems that plan came together on Tuesday, with Coachella releasing an official statement announcing the festival’s postponement. Stagecoach festival, also organised by Goldenvoice, has also been postponed.

In a statement, organisers said, "At the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities, we must sadly confirm the rescheduling of Coachella and Stagecoach due to Covid-19 concerns. While this decision comes at a time of universal uncertainty, we take the safety and health of our guests, staff and community very seriously."

Coachella is one of the first major festivals to take place each year, and it is expected that other events around the world will be forced to follow suit, as the spread of coronavirus remains a global crisis.

In the UAE, Ultra Music Festival, which was set to take place in Abu Dhabi on March 5 and 6, was postponed, alongside the Mother of the Nation festival and performances at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena.

You can keep up to date with all of the changes to scheduled events in the UAE here, and other major cancellations around the world here.