BST Hyde Park UK Canceled, Europe Extends Bans On Gatherings

British Summer Time Hyde Park in London won’t take place this year. 

AEG Presents saw itself forced to cancel its second major London festival this year, BST Hyde Park, following the cancellation of All Points East two weeks ago.

BST Hyde Park was scheduled for July 2-12, confirmed headliners included Duran Duran, Post Malone, Little Mix, Kendrick Lamar, Pearl Jam and Taylor Swift.

A European festival summer seems more unlikely than ever. Several European countries have extended bans on public gatherings until June/July, including Denmark, Norway, Austria, Slovakia and many others expected to follow this example by the end of this week.

And even in those countries that are looking into lifting restrictions soon, large-scale live events will be among the last sectors to be allowed to resume business.

AEG Presents’ statement in full:

“It is with great sadness that we have made the difficult decision to cancel BST Hyde Park 2020.  

“After closely following government actions and statements during the COVID 19 pandemic, as well as consulting with our partners The Royal Parks and wider agencies, we have concluded that this is the only possible outcome.  This would have been the 8th year of this event and we were looking forward to putting on amazing, unique shows for hundreds of thousands of fans in the world’s greatest outdoor venue.  But safety always comes first. 

“In addition to the government rightly enforcing a prolonged period of social isolation, we would not want to place any extra strain on the emergency services, who we are lucky enough to have working alongside us at our events.  We have the utmost respect for them and wish to express our admiration for their dedication and professionalism, which is proving so vital at this time.

“We also have a responsibility to our staff, fans, event workers, suppliers and sponsors, so we have been closely monitoring all developments before making a final decision.  We would like to thank them for their excellent work and we look forward to seeing you all next year when we can celebrate once again.

“You will be contacted directly by the ticket agent you purchased from by 6th May allowing us time to review future plans and provide full information on the ticket refund process.   If you have not been contacted about a refund by your ticket agent by this date please get in touch with them directly, bearing in mind they will be extremely busy at this time. 

“We look forward to welcoming you back in 2021 and will be in touch about plans soon. In the meantime, please follow the advice and stay safe.”