Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas has postponed the upcoming festival to later in the year after a change in the Clark County’s COVID-19 event reopening plan.
Under the new rules, 60 per cent of the Nevada county’s residents need to be vaccinated before large-scale gatherings can take place.
The festival, which was originally scheduled to take place from May 21-23, has been pushed back to October 2021 to accommodate the new restrictions.
Pasquale Rotella, founder and chief executive of Insomniac Events, which organises EDC, said: “Unfortunately, the rate at which people get vaccinated before EDC is out of our control. It might happen in time, it might not. Either way, we can’t take that risk.”
Tickets purchased will automatically be transferred to the new October dates, or ticketholders may choose to receive a refund.
Rotella said that prior to announcing the May dates less than two weeks ago, Nevada state officials assured organisers that they would lift social distancing requirements as of May 1.
However, Clark County announced the vaccination rate requirement and halted plans for EDC’s May dates at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It would have been the first major festival in the US since the COVID-19 pandemic halted live music.
The Las Vegas event, which was postponed from spring to autumn in 2020, before being pushed again to May 2021, typically reports attendance of more than 150,000 per day across the sprawling site.
In his post on social media, Rotella said the lineup was set to be revealed on Wednesday. He said: “The team and I are heartbroken, as I know many of you are as well. For those who have stayed with us on this journey, I thank you. Your trust & loyalty is what gives us strength to keep moving forward.
“I continue to believe it’s important we get back out on the dancefloor as soon as possible, and I won’t give up on trying to make that happen.”
The current statewide limits for gatherings and events state that bigger venues with fixed seating or outdoor events can submit a plan that, if approved, allows for larger audiences.
It was reported earlier this month that the Nevada State Department of Business & Industry denied an event plan submitted by EDC for full festival capacity. A spokesperson with the department confirmed to Las Vegas Weekly that no alternative event plan had been submitted or approved.
Image: JacquelineAA / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Edited for size
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