Coachella Festival No Mask or Vaccine Required

The New York Times Reports:

Coachella Festival To Return Without Mask or Vaccine Requirements.

When the Coachella outdoor music festival returns for the first time in two years this April, performers will see unmasked — and potentially unvaccinated — fans this Spring in Indio, Ca

On Tuesday, organizers said that attendees will not be required to wear masks or be vaccinated or tested for the coronavirus at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which drew up to 125,000 fans a day to Southern California and was one of the biggest music festivals of the pre-pandemic era.

“There is no guarantee, express or implied, that those attending the festival will not be exposed to Covid-19,” Goldenvoice, a division of the global concert giant AEG Live, said on the Coachella website.

Goldenvoice noted, however, that the festival’s Covid policies may change “in accordance with applicable public health conditions.”

Goldenvoice also said on Tuesday that Stagecoach, a country music festival in Southern California, would have no requirements for guests to be masked, vaccinated or tested. The festival was set to run for three days at the end of April and the beginning of May.

Vaccinations, masks and Covid tests are out at this year’s Coachella and Stagecoach festivals, according to postings on their respective official web sites.

“In accordance with local guidelines, there will be no vaccination, testing or masking requirements at Coachella 2022,” reads the “Health & Safety” page for the Goldenvoice-produced event. Ditto the same page on the Stagecoach site.

Face coverings are, however, “recommended to protect against desert dust.”

The changes follow a slew of similar announcements from the State of California, which will lift mask requirements at outdoor mega-events tomorrow, and Disneyland, which just today indicated it is lifting masking requirements in the park on Thursday.

Over four days last summer, the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago ran at full capacity, with its 400,000 attendees being required to show either proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test. According to data released by the city after the festival, infection rates among the concertgoers were very low.

Coachella did not run in 2020 or 2021, and was canceled three times over the pandemic, including a rescheduled date in the fall of 2020.

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— Alyssa Lukpat

The festivals changed their COVID-19 policies to be in alignment with local guidelines, officials said.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, set for the weekends of April 15-17 and April 22-24, and Stagecoach Country Music Festival, slated for the weekend of April 29-May 1, changed their COVID-19 policies to be in alignment with local guidelines, officials said.

“The event shall be presented in accordance with applicable public health conditions as of the date of the event and which may change at any time as determined by federal, state or local government agencies or instrumentalities, artists or the promoter; such requirements may include, without limitation, changes to capacity, attendance procedures and entry requirements, such as proof of vaccination and/or negative COVID-19 test, and other protective measures such as requiring attendees to wear face coverings,” according to an announcement on websites for both events Tuesday.

Coachella will be headlined by Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.

Other acts scheduled to perform include rappers Lil Baby, 21 Savage, Baby Keem and Megan Thee Stallion; R&B singers Daniel Caesar, Giveon and Ari Lennox; singer-songwriters Phoebe Bridgers and Maggie Rogers; and dance-music acts Flume and Disclosure.

Stagecoach will be headlined by Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood and Luke Combs