Society

Summer's Fuji Rock Festival postponed due to COVID-19 concerns

Jun 06 (Japan Times) - Smash Japan announced today that the 2020 edition of Fuji Rock Festival will be postponed due to ongoing concerns regarding COVID-19.

The summer music festival, which was scheduled for Aug. 21 through 23 at the Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata, is the latest event in Japan to be stricken from this yearâ€™s summer calendar. Last month, the organizers of the Rock In Japan Festival in Ibaraki Prefecture and Rising Sun Rock Festival in Hokkaido both announced their events would not be taking place.

Smash made the news official on its website in a message from the Fuji Rock Organizing Committee. Domestic media had reported earlier in the day that the festival would be canceled.

Smash President Masahiro Hidaka also took the opportunity to express his condolences to those who have lost family members to the novel coronavirus and to voice support for those who are fighting the illness.

â€œI also express respect for the medical professionals and all people working on the front lines of the pandemic,â€ Hidaka wrote.

This is the first time in Fuji Rockâ€™s 23-year history that the three-day event has been postponed. The first installment of the gathering in 1997 was battered by a typhoon, resulting in its second day being called off.

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