Hollywood and the entertainment industry are starting to feel the weight and pressure that coronavirus concerns are bringing.
On Friday, Austin Mayor Steve Adler announced that this year’s edition of the music and film festival South by Southwest will be canceled, a week before it was scheduled to take place. Adler cited concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, as well as the recent announcements that several studios, networks, and other companies, had pulled out of the festival over their own concerns.
Adler said he had made his decision based on the recommendations of the city’s public health department. “We are devastated to share this news with you,” SXSW organizers said in a statement that confirmed the news. “‘The show must go on’ is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place. We are now working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation.”
The festival’s cancelation comes days after organizers canceled MIP in Cannes, a massive event that brings together television’s international market. The fate of this year’s Cannes Film Festival is also up in the air as France’s health minister extended a ban of gatherings of more than 5,000 people through the end of May.
By Michael Jacobo
