Rock Werchter cancel 2020 festival due to coronavirus pandemic

The 2020 event was due to take place from 2-5 July in Belgium at Werchter's festival park.

Yesterday (15 April), organisers released a statement announcing the cancellation of the July event. They write, "It will be a summer without Rock Werchter. Today, the National Security Council decided that large gatherings are banned in Belgium until 31 August. The news is no big surprise. It is pretty much as expected and we fully understand the reasons why. The safety of the fans, artists and their crew, festival staff, volunteers and local residents is always our top priority. It is the right decision. Still, we are devastated."

On refunds/ticket information, the organisers state, "Do you hold a ticket for Rock Werchter? As soon as the arrangement for ticket holders is set, our ticket partner Ticketmaster will provide information. Look out for an email from them soon. Please keep in mind that this may take a few days still. Thank you for your understanding."

They go on to encourage social distancing and increased hand-washing, and add, "We are looking forward to better days ahead. We are resilient. We are staying positive. We will start making plans for next summer. We look forward to seeing you in Werchter next year."

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— Rock Werchter (@RockWerchter) April 15, 2020

Kendrick Lamar, The Strokes, Lewis Capaldi, Pearl Jam, Pixies, Beck, Wilco, Thom Yorke, Anderson .Paak and The Free Nationals, Dermot Kennedy, and many others were due to perform at the Belgian festival in July.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Ticketmaster had quietly altered their refund policy, and will now only provide refunds for cancelled events. Before they offered refunds for postponed/rescheduled events too.