After receiving much flak from netizens all over the country, the Goa government on Friday announced that it has decided to cancel Sunburn 2020; one of Asia’s biggest electronic dance music festival. The 14th edition of this EDM fest was scheduled to be held from December 27-29 in line with issued COVID-19 protocols but has been called off due to the possible health hazards posed by it. The tourism minister of Goa stated, “We have taken the decision keeping in mind the health of the people of Goa.”
Possibilities of a second COVID-19 wave in Goa
Sunburn 2020 was announced earlier this month by Percept Live (organisers), and was expected to be attended by 10,000 guests. According to the organisers of the event, this year the festival was expected to be a toned down affair, as compared to previous editions which attracted hundreds of thousands of music lovers to the event from all across the globe.
“We wanted to promote tourism and get tourism-related businesses like taxis, restaurants, hotels started by having an event like Sunburn, but after we thought more about it, we decided to cancel the EDM festival due to the pandemic,” the Tourism Minister added. People from all over India, demanded that the event should be postponed in wake of the ongoing pandemic, even as health authorities in the state have warned of a second COVID-19 wave in Goa over the coming months.
However, with the state currently reporting a steady number of COVID-19 cases, this cancellation was much-needed and previously, the announcement of the fest dates had triggered a severe backlash. Reportedly, the state has already borne a loss of approximately Rs 1,000 crore in revenue, pertaining to the tourism industry since the nationwide lockdown was announced back in March.
