Devonport Jazz cancelled for 2020

The Devonport City Council has cancelled its 2020 Devonport Jazz Festival given the continuing uncertainty regarding the coronarvirus.

It was to be held from 23-26 July.

Mayor Annette Rockliff said the cancellation was an unfortunate but prudent step given the size of the event and the number of acts who would have been coming from interstate and intrastate to perform at the 19th edition of the Festival.

“Given the fact that the Coronavirus issue is rapidly changing, and there is currently no firm timeline for the resolution of the situation, we believe our best option is to cancel Devonport Jazz for this year. We are deeply disappointed, but believe that we have a social responsibility to our whole community,” Cr Rockliff said.

“We have made the decision to cancel at this time to give our artists, venues and audiences maximum time to change their plans and alter any bookings they may already have made.

A festival like Devonport Jazz involves a lot of moving parts – artists, venues, volunteers, technicians, schools, churches, choirs, community bands, accommodation and travel, as well as our audiences, and all have to be taken into account.

“We were getting very excited to announce this year’s line-up, so the decision to cancel Devonport Jazz has not been taken lightly. In fact, it’s been really difficult. Our major concern is for the safety and wellbeing of the community at large and it is important that we are in line with the national response to the pandemic.”

Cr Rockliff said all stakeholders involved with Devonport Jazz had been informed of the decision.

“We do have a contract with our headline act, and we are hopeful we can re-negotiate for them to appear in 2021.”

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