BST Hyde Park, headlined by Pearl Jam, cancelled due to coronavirus

BST Hyde Park was called off last night

Published 9th Apr 2020

Pearl Jam’s only planned UK performance of 2020 at BST Hyde Park has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Seattle rock legends were set to headline the London festival on Friday 10th July with acts including Pixies and White Reaper also on the completely sold-out day bill.

BST Hyde Park organisers released the following statement last night (8th April) confirming the week-long event will no longer be going ahead.

They wrote: “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.”

Other pop and hip-hop acts set to appear at BST Hyde Park across the week included Little Mix, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, Rita Ora, Kesha, Zara Larsson, James Blake and Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard.

Last month Pearl Jam postponed their entire North American tour due to coronavirus.