Download Festival Australia has officially been cancelled amidst global coronavirus concerns.

Download Festival, which was scheduled to take place in Melbourne and Sydney next weekend, had already seen Italian band, Lacuna Coil pull out due to concerns about the global Coronavirus crisis.

Today, headline act My Chemical Romance announced they would be postponing their performances in Australia and New Zealand, following yesterday’s cancellation of their shows in Japan.

“It is with heavy hearts that we have decided to postpone our performances in Australia and New Zealand. We felt this was the right decision for our fans, our band, our crew, and our families given the current global situation,” they say in a statement. “We apologize to our fans, but please know that we didn’t come to this decision lightly. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to being with you all again as soon as we can. In the meantime, please be good to each other.”

Download Festival Australia organisers say their decision to cancel the 2020 event was prompted by MCR’s withdrawal.

“Given that this announcement has come barely 8 days prior to Download Australia we will not be able to secure an alternative headliner as there is insufficient time to secure visas and arrange the other relevant logistics that are required prior to the festival.”

“As we are unable to deliver a complete line-up to meet the standard that Download fans both expect and deserve, we have very reluctantly made the decision to cancel Download Australia 2020.”

They add that they are currently working with both My Chemical Romance and Deftones to schedule “separate headline shows in Australia in 2020”. They also say they are working with “a number of artists who have official Download side shows scheduled” to add headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne next week.

The Sydney and Melbourne music festival joins the likes of Dark Mofo Festival, Coachella, and SXSW, all of whom have had to cancel or postpone dates in light of the coronavirus spread.

All ticket purchasers to the Download Melbourne and Sydney 2020 events will receive a full refund including booking and payment processing fees. Moshtix will contact account holders on Monday 16th March via email with information regarding the refund process.

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