World's largest Jazz Festival in Montreal cancelled amid coronavirus pandemic

Amid the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Montreal Jazz Festival, which is the world’s largest and scheduled to start on June 25, has been cancelled. The festival attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to Canada’s second-largest city, but due to the rapid spread of deadly COVID-19, the organisers decided to cancel the event. Another festival, the Francos de Montreal, which is organised by the same group, has also been cancelled. 

The Jazz Festival’s general manager, Jacques Primeau, in a statement on April 3 said that the decision, which was made with the private partners and the government, was not an easy one. Primeau added that the cancellation of the event was necessary in order to protect the public, the artists and the employees. 

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According to an international media outlet, several other summer jamborees in Canada’s francophone metropolis, including the hugely popular Just for Laughs Festival, has also been postponed until the fall due to the coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, a cycling event, the Tour de l’ile, which was scheduled for June 7 has also reportedly been cancelled. The cancellation or postponement of the events in Canada comes after the country reported more than 12,500 coronavirus cases. The deadly virus has even claimed nearly 208 lives in the country. 

‘Unprecedented situation’ 

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, assured that the government is working to rectify the situation and better its response to stem the easily spread fatal virus. While speaking to the international media reports, Trudeau called the situation ‘unprecedented’ and added that there has been a lot of pressure on the system. Furthermore, he urged citizens to stay home and also warned that people who are not taking the advice seriously will be facing sanctions. 

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Trudeau, while speaking at a daily news conference, said, “Enough is enough. Go home and stay home. We're going to make sure this happens, whether by educating people more on the risks or by enforcing the rules if that's needed”. 

Last month, the federal and provincial officials also said that people ignoring advice to self-isolate or avoid late groups could be fined or arrested. As per reports, almost all provinces in Canada have imposed some sort of state of emergency. Canada is also asking recently retires meat inspectors to return to work as it tries to ease staffing shortages and ensure that the food system remains intact. 

(Image source: MyBeauDes/Twitter)

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