Sports, music, and more postponed worldwide due to Coronavirus concerns.
An educated personal take from the blog of Ryan Rickard as of March 2020.
As the Coronavirus disease raises concerns over large crowds of people, not only have businesses closed, but entertainment including sports and live music have come to a halt as well. The implementation of social distancing throughout the world and the shortage of public interaction has led to many athletes as well as musicians worldwide postponing or canceling sports games, concerts, movie releases, festivals, and other events. This has led to an interesting form of relationship building now being developed between athletes and musicians with their fans and followers.
Musicians and Live Music
Via social media, many canceled performances have been announced by musicians to be canceled through the months of April through June. Most of these performances are being postponed until at least the Fall of 2020 with many specific dates not yet released. It seems many musicians are attempting to not cancel performances due to many fans having already purchased tickets for performances. The postponing of concerts has left many musicians without work for the time being and the future of live performances is still a bit uncertain. According to thegaurdian.com in a survey by the Musicians’ Union in the United Kingdom, it has been recorded that musicians have lost at least $1.5 million in revenue during the current downtime.
To keep in contact with fans many musicians have taken to social media tools such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, and YouTube. With the rise of live streaming trends many musicians have set up virtual concerts and performances for fans to enjoy and comment on during the times of canceled concerts. These performances mainly consist of musicians performing their music directly from their homes or studios in front of a camera while a comment section on the social media streaming platform allows for fans to leave comments for the musician or ask the musician questions.
Popular artists who have jumped on this trend include country music artists Luke Bryan (via Facebook), Garth Brooks (via Facebook), and Keith Urban (via Instagram). Other musicians include singer John Legend, Chris Martin of Coldplay, and hip-hop rapper Machine Gun Kelly. Billboard.com has released an extensive list of popular canceled or postponed concerts and festivals which includes Milwaukee’s Summerfest 2020 and The Great Escape U.K. 2020. This list can be found at: https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/touring/9323647/concerts-canceled-coronavirus-list
Athletes and Live Sports
Like musicians, athletes have also been put on a social distancing hold and are attempting to postpone games rather than cancel them. During this time athletes, coaches, and athletic trainers will all be relieved of their work and will not be able to return until their major league of play makes an announcement for their return. Fans who have already bought tickets to games have been commonly asked by large sports organizations to hold their tickets and refrain from selling them or requesting refunds as they will be deemed valid for the date’s contests are rescheduled for in the future.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has seen the greatest amount of change due to the Coronavirus having postponed their season of play at arguably their most important time of the year. Beginning March 12th, the NBA announced a season suspension after their first player was tested positive for the disease. During this time the league was soaring in popularity as the regular season was ending and the playoffs were only one month away. Fortunately for fans the league has released multiple statements encouraging fans to stay positive and sharing that the league will be back in action as soon as possible. Many teams and players have also released statements sharing their concerns and condolences while several have also made donations to fans and team related workers affected by the postponing of the season. Several high-profile players who have been confirmed for the Coronavirus include Kevin Durant (Brooklyn), Rudy Gobert (Utah), Donovan Mitchell (Utah), and Christian Wood (Detroit).
Other major sports leagues that have been postponed or canceled include the NCAA tournament (college basketball), the Masters (golf), NASCAR (racing), NHL (hockey), MLB training (baseball), and the XFL (football). References Used in this Blog Post Arizona Sports. (2020, March 14). Coronavirus cancellation timeline: NFL Draft prospects can't meet teams. Retrieved from https://arizonasports.com/story/2291178/coronavirus-cancellation-timeline-nfl-draft-prospects-cant-meet-teams/ Aschburner, S. (2020, March 12). Coronavirus pandemic causes NBA to suspend season after player tests positive. Retrieved from https://www.nba.com/article/2020/03/11/coronavirus-pandemic-causes-nba-suspend-season Beaumont-Thomas, B. (2020, March 23). UK musicians lose £13.9m in earnings so far due to coronavirus. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/mar/23/uk-musicians-lose-139m-earnings-coronavirus Billboard Staff. (2020, March 21). Concerts Canceled Due To Coronavirus: Ongoing List. Retrieved from https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/touring/9323647/concerts-canceled-coronavirus-list Fitzmaurice, L. (2020, March 16). 'It Could Be an Incredibly Quiet Year': 18 Musicians On a Post-Coronavirus World. Retrieved from https://www.vulture.com/2020/03/artists-musicians-coronavirus-tour-concert-cancellations-life.html Swartz, J. (2020, March 23). Live-streamed performances are surging among musicians during coronavirus crisis. Retrieved from https://www.marketwatch.com/story/live-streamed-performances-are-surging-among-musicians-during-coronavirus-crisis-2020-03-23
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