Download Festival, the annual rock and metal event held at nearby Castle Donington has been cancelled this year because of Coronavirus.
The festival was set to take place on 12-14 June and feature Kiss, Iron Maiden, System of a Down, Deftones, Korn, The Offspring and Disturbed. Originally conceived as a successor to the Monsters of Rock Festival, which was held on the same site between 1980-1996, Download has been held annually at Castle Donington since 2003, inspiring offshoot festivals in Paris, Sydney and Melbourne.
In a statement announcing the cancellation, the festival's organisers said, “We’ve been closely monitoring this unprecedented situation and it’s become clear that it just isn’t possible for the 2020 festival to go ahead. This decision hasn’t been been taken lightly and we are beyond disappointed. We extend our heartfelt apologies to all of you. We really did try to make this work.”
People who had booked tickers have been advised to wait for an email from their ticketing agent with details about how to either access a refund or to carry their ticket over to the 2021 event.
Other Nottingham events and festivals that have been postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak include sci-fi convention Em-Con at Nottingham Arena (originally scheduled for 2-3 May, but now moved to 18-19 July), Nottingham Craft Beer Festival at Sneinton Avenues (originally 12-13 June, but now moved to 21-22 August) and Castle Rock Brewery's Yard Party (originally scheduled for 15-16 May, but now expected to take place in September).
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