After a three-year break due to the pandemic caused by Covid-19, the activities of this event that takes place in a desert region of California (USA) and that will have no restrictions, return.
© AFP Agency
This year, the Coachella festival poster includes figures such as Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, The Weeknd, Anitta and Nathy Peluso.
The Coachella festival returns this Friday, without masks (masks) or restrictions, after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, drawing thousands of people to a desert region of California, while Covid cases rise again.
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Held over two three-day weekends, the musical event traditionally opens the concert season in the United States. This year, the poster includes figures such as Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, The Weeknd, Anitta and Nathy Peluso.
The 2020 edition of Coachella was postponed when the Covid-19 pandemic shook the world. And, after two years of chaotic cancellations, the festival is ready to rumble with dozens of artists.
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His comeback is seen as a signal to the multibillion-dollar concert industry still reeling after numerous setbacks during the pandemic.
Although some massive festivals, like last year’s Lollapalooza, required proof of vaccination and tests to rule out Covid-19, Coachella announced that it will not impose any type of restriction, not even masks (masks), or distancing.
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The musical festival is mostly open air, but it brings together some 125,000 people every day, many of whom camp or sleep in hotels in the region.
Several places to perform covid-19 tests will be available this weekend in the area -and two inside the festival-, informed José Arballo, spokesman for the Riverside County Department of Public Health, where the town is registered.
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“There are issues [a considerar] whenever there are large groups of people gathering in public places, but we hope that most people will be vaccinated, and that many people will wear masks (face masks),” he said in an interview with AFP.
“If people don’t feel well, even if it costs them money, let’s hope they don’t come,” he added.
Arballo indicated that the Covid-19 figures in the county “reached a lower level in the last two weeks”, but “other people will come from all over the country and from other countries where the cases may not be so low”.
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The spokesperson commented that due to the times of the virus, the health impact of the festival will only be known in the middle of next week, just before the second weekend of the festival.
In the United States, Covid-19 cases have fallen compared to January numbers but have started to climb again, with about 38,000 daily diagnoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most of the new positive cases are due to the omicron subvariant, known as BA.2.
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Some universities have implemented the mandatory use of masks, but in most of the national territory, including California, the measure is not applied.
– “Everyone misses this” –
Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers and Doja Cat are some of the great figures that will perform at Coachella.
The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia entered the bill at the last minute after rapper Kanye West pulled out of the festival.
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In addition to Anitta and Pabllo Vittar from Brazil, the international lineup includes France’s L’Imperatrice, Belgium’s Stromae, recent Grammy winner Arooj Aftab, Palestinian DJ Sama’ Abdulhadi and South Africa’s Black Coffee, who made history by being the first African person to win a Grammy for Best Electronic Album.
A last minute surprise is the presentation this Friday of the band Arcade Fire.
Coachella is celebrated in Indio, a municipality in this desert-climate region of California with less than 95,000 inhabitants that embraces the slogan of being “The City of Festivals”, hosting other concerts and large events.
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According to Brooke Beare, a city spokesperson, Indio receives about $3 million annually in profits from the festivals, including a percentage of admissions and occupancy taxes.
Beare explains that the region “benefits tremendously,” from hotels to restaurants to gas stations, in addition to the “unparalleled energy” that the festivals bring to the area.
Mason Fouad, owner of the Mirage liquor store in Palm Springs, a few miles from Coachella and where many of the visitors stay, said he saw a 30% growth in sales for his business this week compared to January.
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“Alcohol shops grow at festivals,” Fouad told AFP, alternating between phone orders and face-to-face customers. “But everyone is hoping that this edition of Coachella will set a record because everyone misses this.”