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Coronavirus cancellations, delays, changes: Rose Parade, Super Nintendo World and more

Tech conferences, movies, music fests, political rallies and sports events have all been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
Expertise Abrar has spent her career at CNET analyzing tech trends while also writing news, reviews and commentaries across mobile, streaming and online culture. Credentials
  • Named a Tech Media Trailblazer by the Consumer Technology Association in 2019, a winner of SPJ NorCal's Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2022 and has three times been a finalist in the LA Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.
Andrew Morse Former executive editor
Andrew Morse is a veteran reporter and editor. Before joining CNET, he worked at The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Bloomberg, among other publications.
Kent German Former senior managing editor / features
Kent was a senior managing editor at CNET News. A veteran of CNET since 2003, he reviewed the first iPhone and worked in both the London and San Francisco offices. When not working, he's planning his next vacation, walking his dog or watching planes land at the airport (yes, really).
Abrar Al-Heeti
Andrew Morse
Kent German
14 min read
gettyimages-1212083286

Major events are closing down due to concerns over COVID-19.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

The coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc. As people are ordered to stay at home and avoid contact with others, a cascade of cancellations and postponements has wiped major events off the calendar.

Disneyland and Disney World are closed. Movies from James Bond to Black Widow have been postponed. Big events such as SXSW, the E3 gaming show, the Geneva and Detroit auto shows and Mobile World Congress have all been called off. Coachella, the Cannes film fest and the Eurovision Song Contest have been hit. The NBA suspended its season, as have many more sports leagues. Formula One and Wimbledon are off too.

The latest major event to be affected: the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, originally slated for Jan. 1, 2021. 

Here's how the outbreak is impacting our lives with postponements, cancellations and closures.

Sporting events

  • Tour de France The cycling race won't start on June 27 as scheduled. Organizers said they're trying to figure out new dates for the event. 
  • UFC 249 UFC president Dana White said on April 9 that the event, slated for April 18, was canceled.
  • British Open On April 6, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club announced that the 149th British Open championship will be delayed until 2021.
  • Wimbledon On April 1, the 2020 tennis championship was moved to 2021, when it will run from June 28 to July 11.
  • Tokyo Olympics On March 24, the International Olympic Committee and Japan's prime minister said the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games will be postponed. On March 30, the IOC said the games will now be held from July 23 to Aug. 8, 2021, with the Paralympic Games running from Aug. 24 to Sept. 5, 2021.
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Political events

Watch this: Coronavirus lockdown: Why social distancing saves lives

Cultural happenings and institutions

  • Rose Parade The annual event in Pasadena, California, originally slated for Jan. 1, 2021, was canceled because of "restrictions and guidelines" related to the state's phased reopening plans. 
  • Broadway Theaters on the Great White Way closed on March 12. The Broadway League said in June that performances will be suspended for the rest of the year, and that refunds or exchanges are available for tickets purchased for shows through Jan. 3.
  • Outside Lands The San Francisco music festival was canceled this year, with organizers announcing the lineup for next year's event Aug. 6 to 8.
  • Star Wars Celebration The event, scheduled for Aug. 27 to 30 in Anaheim, California, has been pushed to 2022
  • Iowa State Fair The annual fair has been canceled this year. 
  • Lollapalooza Chicago's giant music festival won't be taking place, but there will be a livestream event the weekend of July 30 to Aug. 2 instead. The Taste of Chicago was also canceled.
  • IBC Show The annual International Broadcasting Convention, slated to take place in September in Amsterdam, was canceled
  • The Kennedy Center All scheduled ticketed performances through Aug. 9 have been postponed. That includes a 14-week run of Hamilton. 
  • MGM Resorts All shows and attractions at the Vegas resorts have reportedly been canceled through June 30.
  • Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance The event, part of the annual Monterey Car Week festivities in California, was canceled
  • Oktoberfest Munich canceled its Oktoberfest event, scheduled for Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.
  • Elton John The singer postponed the rest of his upcoming North American tour dates.
  • Gathering of the Juggalos The Insane Clown Posse said the annual music festival, slated for Aug. 5 to 8, was canceled
  • Scripps National Spelling Bee The 2020 national finals were canceled for the first time since World War II. 
  • Pride parades Cities including New York and San Francisco won't be hosting pride parades this summer. 
  • Anime Expo The event, scheduled for July 2-5 in Los Angeles, was canceled. 
  • San Diego Comic-Con The pop culture convention scheduled for July 23-26 was canceled.
  • Taylor Swift The artist canceled all live performances and appearances this year, and rescheduled the US and Brazil shows of her Lover Fest tour to next year. 
  • Shakespeare in the Park New York's Public Theater canceled this year's free summer season. 
  • Burning Man The annual countercultural festival won't happen this year in its usual locale, Nevada's Black Rock Desert. Instead it'll be an online event, at Virtual Black Rock City 2020.
  • Peloton April live classes On April 6, Peloton said it was halting production at its New York and London studios through April 30. On April 21, the company said it would resume live streaming from instructors' homes beginning April 22.
  • Movie blockbusters A number of high-profile movies have seen their release dates pushed back, including Black Widow, A Quiet Place 2, Mulan and the next James Bond installment, No Time to Die.
  • Coachella The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival has been pushed to October.
  • Glastonbury The UK's legendary Glastonbury music festival, this year intended to feature Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Kendrick Lamar and Diana Ross, will no longer take place on June 24.
  • Met Ball On March 16, Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour said this year's Met Gala, slated to take place in May, has been postponed.
  • Tony Awards Postponed from June 7 to an undetermined date.
  • Peabody Awards The ceremony, previously scheduled for June 18, has been postponed. 
  • 47th annual Daytime Emmy Awards will not take place in June as scheduled, the National Academy of Television Arts &  Sciences said in a statement on March 19. 
  • Ultra Music Festival This Miami festival has been postponed until next year.
    new-mutants-dtlr2-mktg-stills-185-r709f-191223-17lt-4
    Enlarge Image
    new-mutants-dtlr2-mktg-stills-185-r709f-191223-17lt-4

    The release of X-Men spin-off The New Mutants has now been delayed four times. 

    Twentieth Century Fox
  • Forthcoming films Many films and TV shows currently in production have shut down, including The Matrix 4 and several of  Disney 's live action films.
  • WonderCon Anaheim On March 12, WonderCon Anaheim, slated to take place in April, was postponed.
  • Cannes The prestigious Cannes film festival, originally scheduled for May 12 to 23, was postponed on March 19 for a later date in the summer. On April 14, festival organizers said the postponement is "no longer an option," and that "it is clearly difficult to assume that the Festival de Cannes could be held this year in its original form." The organizers said they're still exploring options for this year's event.
  • Tribeca The Tribeca Film Festival, slated to take place in April, was postponed after New York banned events with 500 or more people.
  • SXSW Sprawling tech and entertainment festival South by Southwest, slated to take place in March, was one of the first to be canceled
  • Tallinn Music Week has been rescheduled for August.
  • Eurovision Song Contest The famously flamboyant Eurovision Song Contest, due to take place in the Netherlands in May, has been canceled.
  • EDC and Beyond Wonderland SoCal The dance music festival Beyond Wonderland SoCal, which was scheduled to take place in March, was postponed until June. EDC Las Vegas has been moved from May to instead take place on Oct. 2-4.
  • Edinburgh festivals The world's largest arts festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, was canceled on April 1, along with the Edinburgh Art Festival, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It's the first time in over 70 years the Scottish capital won't host the festivals in August.
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    Billie Eilish is one of the artists rescheduling a major tour.

    Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation
  • Billie Eilish As if it wasn't enough that the Bond film for which she sang the theme tune is delayed, Billie Eilish is postponing her North American tour dates.
  • The Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and chums were supposed to continue their world tour in North America, but the Rolling Stones have postponed their summer dates from San Diego to Atlanta.
  • Madonna canceled shows in France.
  • The Foo Fighters have pushed back their 25th anniversary tour.
  • Avril Lavigne has postponed plans for European shows.
  • Slipknot has canceled shows in Japan and across Asia.
  • My Chemical Romance was forced to pull out of long-awaited reunion shows.
  • Pearl Jam has canceled a North American tour.
  • Green Day was due to tour Asia.
  • Pixies have pulled shows in Australia.
  • Action Bronson has pulled shows.
  • Mariah Carey has moved a Hawaii concert from March to November.
  • Rage Against the Machine has canceled live dates with Run the Jewels.
  • The Who has canceled shows in the UK and Ireland.
  • Camila Cabello has postponed her Romance Tour of the US and Europe.
  • Talk shows A handful of late-night shows, including The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers, have shifted to virtual interviews, with hosts broadcasting from their homes.
  • The Met The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York said on March 12 that it would temporarily close.
  • Washington Monument The National Park Service has closed the famous Washington Monument.
  • White House Easter Egg Roll The Office of the First Lady canceled this year's White House Easter Egg Roll, which was slated to take place April 13. "The health and safety of all Americans must be the first priority, especially right now," First Lady Melania Trump said in a statement.
  • iHeartRadio Music Awards The annual awards show, slated to take place March 29, was postponed to an unspecified date. 
  • The Jonas Brothers Their April 1 to 18 residency in Las Vegas had been canceled
  • Kelly Clarkson Another Vegas disappointment: Kelly Clarkson has postponed her Las Vegas residency from April 1 to July.
  • Mandy Moore An Instagram post from Mandy Moore revealed the postponement to her tour dates.
  • Alicia Keys The singer tweeted that her More Myself book tour and new album will be postponed, though the book will still be available on March 31. 
  • Little Big Town Shows for the band's Nightfall Tour were rescheduled to later this year and early next year. 
  • Zac Brown Band The musical act canceled their 2020 tour dates
  • VidCon The annual online video tech conference, slated to take place in Anaheim in June, was canceled
  • Academy of Country Music Awards The event was moved from April 5 to Sept. 16.
  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony The event, which was slated to air on HBO in May, was rescheduled for later this year.
  • Lady Gaga The singer took to Twitter to announce she's postponing the release of her album Chromatica.
  • Comicpalooza The comic and pop culture convention in Texas was canceled
  • Garth Brooks The country singer postponed his performances in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Cincinnati, Ohio, to June. 
  • BTS The band is rescheduling its North American tour dates, after earlier canceling its April concert dates in Seoul.
  • Harry Styles The singer rescheduled his upcoming tour in the UK and Europe to 2021.
  • Governors Ball The NYC festival, slated for June, was canceled
  • Download Festival The UK rock festival won't be taking place this year
  • QuakeCon The annual convention held by video game investor ZeniMax Media, which was slated to take place in August, was canceled. 
  • Pokemon World Championships All sanctioned competitive events are suspended, including the June 26-28 North American International Championships and the Aug. 14-16 Pokemon World Championship finals in London.
  • Women Tech Global Conference This year's physical San Francisco event will be replaced with a virtual one connecting "women, minorities and their allies in tech." It'll take place June 10-12.
  • Gamescom The video game trade fair will take place digitally from Aug. 27 to 30, shifting a few days from its original time frame. It'll serve as a "content hub" for news and publisher events, instead of the traditional show in Cologne, Germany.
  • Nintendo E3 Direct is going to delay its June presentation of upcoming games, according to VentureBeat.

See the emptiness as coronavirus closes landmarks, stadiums, amusement parks

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Theme parks

Tech industry events

Several prominent industry events were canceled or revamped because of concerns over the coronavirus. They include:

CNET's Corinne Reichert, Ben Fox Rubin, Jackson Ryan, Shara Tibken, Lynn La, Sean Szymkowski, Dara Kerr, Queenie Wong, Oscar Gonzalez, Dan Ackerman, Stephen Shankland, Chris Paukert, Erin Carson, Edward Moyer, Sean Keane, Eli Blumenthal, Richard Trenholm, Lori Grunin, Nick Hide, Ian Sherr and Shelby Brown contributed to this report. 

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