April 13, 2020 – INmusic festival director Zoran Maric talks about the fate of the 15th edition in Zagreb.
The coronavirus pandemic is affecting the global music industry more severely than initially expected. The ban on public gatherings continues, and it is still not possible to determine or predict when we can enjoy concerts of any kind again, including festivals, whether local or foreign.
Many music festivals around the world have already confirmed new dates – some will be held in late summer/early fall 2020, while some have skipped this year’s edition and already announced the same program for 2021.
INmusic, one of Croatia’s biggest music festivals, announced a truly impressive line-up this year, including The Killers, Beck and Deftones, who are just part of a fantastic program scheduled for June 22-24, 2020 at Zagreb’s Jarun.
Sound Report contacted the INmusic festival director, Zoran Maric, who explained the current situation and organizational challenges they are facing:
“The organization of the INmusic Festival is making every effort to delay the festival when the public health situation allows. Tickets purchased for the 15th INmusic Festival will, of course, be valid for the new term.
In a pandemic situation in which everyone loses, we strongly believe that delaying the festival for a new term is the fairest and safest solution for everyone involved – the audience, musicians and festival organization. If there is no other option, the ultimate option is to cancel the festival, which in this context means that the festival will no longer exist,” said Maric, emphasizing that the global music industry is currently facing huge losses, but the health and safety of every visitor is still a top priority.
“In this way, we would like to thank everyone who, by staying in their homes and practicing physical distance, has contributed to the good and controlled epidemiological picture in Croatia, to protecting our own health and that of our loved ones, and equally important, the stability of our health system. And this crisis, like many others before it, will pass, and only in safe conditions can we expect and look forward to returning to a better state of everyday life, which will include international music tours and all other cultural and tourist facilities that we, unfortunately, lost in 2020.”
Jutarnji List reports that if INmusic is canceled due to force majeure, there will be no refund. “The INmusic Festival, as an independent festival, has stated in festival rules from the beginning of the event that if the festival is canceled due to force majeure, no refund will be possible for the tickets purchased,” they said.
They believe that in the event of cancellation due to force majeure, “everyone involved, therefore, the bands and the organizers and the audience, necessarily bear their share of the loss, which is nevertheless minor for the audience compared to the losses of the bands and the organizers.”
This year’s INmusic at Zagreb’s Jarun was scheduled to feature The Killers, Beck, Deftones, The Lumineers, Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, Belle and Sebastian, Rival Sons, Gogol Bordello and others.
INmusic is in regular contact with all the performers and says there is a high level of understanding of everyone, from the agencies of the bands, the management, and the bands themselves to the organizers.
“Everyone involved in the realization of such an event is expected to receive the same level of understanding by the audience, precisely because every individual on the planet is somehow affected by the pandemic and its suppression measures,” they note.
They expressed the belief that this understanding will enable the 15th INmusic Festival to take place, if not in June this year, then at a time when the public health situation will be stable and the threat of the uncontrolled spread of the infection will be overcome.
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