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The festival is a victim of the corona virus. This only affects events in July.
James Blunt would have been one of the best Blue Ball moments. But this year nothing will come out
In the past few weeks with many cultural event cancellations, Blue Balls Festival announcements have always seemed like little lights at the end of the tunnel: new acts were regularly announced, most recently superstars James Blunt and Emeli Sandé. The Blue Balls hoped that in July, starting in the second half of the year, something normal could return. But now the Blue Balls also had to set sail for this year, on Thursday night the cancellation came.
“We are very sorry that it is no longer in our power to host the Blue Balls Festival 2020,” says the message. And also: “The association Lucerne Blues Session has to cancel the festival due to force majeure due to the situation of Covid 19 and the state of world emergency.”
Tickets and vouchers will be refunded
All tickets already purchased will be refunded from May 1 to June 30. To do this, register at the point where the respective ticket was purchased. The same applies to coupons and support contributions. The festival also notes that one is grateful for forgoing such refunds.
What the cancellation means for the festival as a whole is still unclear. Last week it emerged that the Lucerne City Council rejected a founding model and greater commitment, which festival director Urs Leierer acknowledged with disappointment. He had repeatedly criticized the lack of financial support for the Blue Ball. He referred to the added value and image gains that the city could make possible.
Pay 130,000 francs a year to Blue Balls. There are also discounted KKL uses and free use of public land. In the foundation model, the city should have contributed and donated more than 750,000 francs to the festival over the next four years. It remains to be seen whether the cancellation of the Blue Ball is now in jeopardy and whether the city considers further support to be sensible.
