Coachella festival abandons 2020 event and confirms new dates for 2021

The festival had initially been postponed, but now it has been confirmed that the 2020 event will not go ahead

The Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals have been cancelled for 2020 due to coronavirus concerns. AP

Coachella music festival has abandoned all plans for a 2020 festival, after initially postponing the April event to October.

Organisers confirmed on Thursday that the event would no longer take place this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, instead announcing new dates for April 2021.

Coachella is one of the biggest music festivals in the world, bringing more than half a million fans to an open-air site in the California desert.

Its sister event Stagecoach, which focuses on country music, has also been cancelled for 2020.

"We have every intention of returning in 2021. As of now, Coachella weekend one will take place April 9 to 11, 2021 and weekend two will be April 16 to 18, 2021. Stagecoach is set for April 23 to 25, 2021," organisers Goldenvoice said in a statement on Thursday.

It added that details of the 2021 line-up would be announced at a later date and that tickets sold for 2020 would be honoured in 2021.

The 2020 festival was  set to be headlined by Frank Ocean, Rage Against the Machine, and Travis Scott. It is not yet clear whether any of these artists will be involved in the 2021 event.

Coachella was among the first of the big festivals to announce its postponement back in March, as the coronavirus pandemic swept across the world. Many other large-scale events, including Glastonbury Festival's 50th anniversary, have also been cancelled, while other events, such as fashion weeks and sporting competitions have opted to go digital and audience free.