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Six Nations to Stormzy: which events could be cancelled by coronavirus? From left: Raheem Sterling, Johnny Sexton, Stormzy, Mabel and Dina Asher-Smith Composite: Various/Guardian Design

Six Nations to Stormzy: which events could be cancelled by coronavirus?

This article is more than 4 years old
Six Nations to Stormzy: which events could be cancelled by coronavirus? From left: Raheem Sterling, Johnny Sexton, Stormzy, Mabel and Dina Asher-Smith Composite: Various/Guardian Design

Following postponement of World Athletics and Ireland v Italy rugby match, as well as cancellation of Mabel and Stormzy gigs, could the Olympics be next?

The Olympics, the Six Nations and Stormzy’s world tour are among events under threat amid health and travel concerns as authorities attempt to combat the spread of coronavirus.

As the number of cases worldwide continues to climb, fears over the outbreak have already prompted the mass cancellation of festivals and sporting events across Asia, and events in Europe are also being called into question.

A senior member of the International Olympic Committee has said cancellation of the Tokyo 2020 Games would be likely only if the disease proved too dangerous for the event – scheduled to begin on 24 July – to go ahead.

On Wednesday the Irish Rugby Football Union said both the men’s and women’s matches between Ireland and Italy would be postponed on the advice of the government and public health advisers. Last weekend, Italy’s women’s team had their match with Scotland cancelled. Ireland’s chief medical officer said on Wednesday that the recommendation to cancel the match was “the only responsible decision that could have been made”.

A number of touring artists have cancelled dates in affected places altogether, including Stormzy, who has had to postpone the entire Asian leg of his forthcoming global tour, and Mabel, who has cancelled all of her performance dates in Italy.

A Public Health England spokesperson said people should “not feel obliged to avoid others, even in large gatherings, but should maintain good personal, hand and respiratory hygiene to avoid the spread of infections that are common at this time of year, such as flu”.

The statement continued: “At the moment, we are not advising changing plans around sporting events. However, this is an evolving situation and we regularly review our advice.”

Sport

Olympic Games
The IOC member Dick Pound told the Associated Press that preparations for Tokyo 2020 were “business as usual” and any decision on whether or not to go ahead with the Games did not need to be taken until May. But he raised the prospect of a cancellation if the circumstances demand it nearer the time. “In and around that time [late May], folks are going to have to ask: is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or not?” he said. “A lot of things have to start happening. You’ve got to start ramping up your security, your food, the Olympic Village, the hotels.” If the IOC decides the games cannot go forward as scheduled in Tokyo, rather than another country taking over, “you’re probably looking at a cancellation”, he said.

Training for 80,000 Olympic volunteers, which was due to begin on 22 February, has been delayed for at least two months.

Six Nations
Ireland’s game against Italy in Dublin on 7 March has now been postponed following an intervention from the country’s health minister. Simon Harris said he believed the fixture should be postponed following the spread of coronavirus to countries including Italy. “The clear view of the public health emergency team was that this game would constitute a significant risk because a very large number of people will be travelling from what is now an affected region,” he said. The IRFU said it was “perfectly happy to comply with this instruction” and it now had “a lot of work to do” to rearrange the fixture. Attention will turn to whether Italian fans with tickets to Dublin will still travel or cancel their visits.

The Aviva Stadium, Dublin. Ireland’s game against Italy scheduled to be played there on 7 March has now been postponed. Photograph: Donall Farmer/PA

England v Italy
The Football Association has begun the process of discussing how it responds to coronavirus and, specifically, whether England’s friendly with Italy at Wembley on 27 March can go ahead given the spread of the virus in Italy, which has already led to four Serie A fixtures being postponed and Internazionale’s home Europa League tie with Ludogorets on Thursday becoming a behind-closed-doors fixture. Other matters – including England’s participation at Euro 2020 – are also being discussed by the FA, which for now is continuing to take government advice in regards to how to react to the virus.

Premier League
Clubs are following NHS guidelines regarding safeguarding against the coronavirus as it continues to spread globally. The governing body is also sharing recommendations to its clubs received from the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, agreed in conjunction with the EFL chief medical officer, while at their respective stadiums advice is being displayed for staff and fans to self-isolate if they experience symptoms of the virus. The Department of Health, NHS England and Public Health England are not, though, currently issuing any further stipulations.

Cheltenham festival
As of Wednesday morning, the only decision taken was to establish a coronavirus steering group including representatives of the British Horseracing Authority, racecourses and horsemen. The sport is said to be on a “watching and monitoring” brief and prepared to take its cue from the government if the situation in Britain should deteriorate.

World Athletics Indoor Championships
Originally scheduled for Nanjing from 13-15 March, the championships have now been postponed until next year.

Formula One
The Chinese Grand Prix, originally set for 19 April, has been postponed by FIA and Formula One, who will weigh potential alternative dates later this year. The opening three races of the Formula One season – in Australian, Bahrain and Vietnamare coming under increasing threat of cancellation.

Culture

Touring musicians
Stormzy is undertaking his biggest tour yet in 2020, a global jaunt across five continents – but the Asian leg has been postponed. Stormzy apologised for the decision: “Due to the ongoing health and travel concerns surrounding the coronavirus, I’m regrettably having to reschedule.” Pop star Mabel, who won a Brit award for British solo female artist, has cancelled the Italian leg of her tour and said she is “hoping to reschedule soon”. R&B artist Khalid postponed his Asian tour dates citing concerns for “the safety of Khalid’s fans, his team and everyone who has been working on these concerts.” US alt-rock band the Pixies have cancelled concerts due to begin this week in China and Japan. Other alternative music events to be cancelled include a Stereolab tour of China in mid-March, and a Hong Kong spinoff of Barcelona’s electronic music festival, Sonar, originally lined up for 28 March and now looking to be rescheduled.

SXSW
South by Southwest, the major cultural festival held each year in Austin, Texas featuring music, film, comedy, technology and more, has said it is “proceeding as planned”, but “where travel has been impacted, especially in the case of China, we are seeing a handful of cancellations”. It is due to run from 13-22 March.

Tourists wearing protective masks visit Venice. Photograph: Andrea Pattaro/AFP via Getty Images

Venice Biennale
The worlds of art and architecture are bracing themselves to do without their regular dose of Aperol Spritz this spring, with growing speculation that the Venice Biennale could be postponed. The organisation has cancelled next week’s press conference in London, following the announcement that the Milan Furniture Fair – the world’s largest design trade show – has been postponed from April until June.

Cannes, Venice and other film festivals
The film industry has been hit hard: Chinese cinemas were quickly shut as a preventive measure, gutting the valuable Chinese new year box office and forcing the cancellation of high-profile events such as the Chinese premiere of the new Bond film, No Time to Die, which was due in April. The spread of the virus will also adversely impact high-profile international film festivals such as Cannes (in May) and Venice (in September). Not only will the increasingly deep-pocketed representatives of the Chinese industry be unable to travel, but the increasing likelihood of local controls will put an end to the high-profile gala screenings, big money deals and PR campaigns that are the festivals’ bread and butter.

Fashion weeks
Fashion weeks in Beijing and Shanghai that were supposed to take place at the end of March have been postponed.
Meanwhile, a number of Chinese brands pulled out of fashion weeks in Paris and Milan, and French fashion house Agnes B has cancelled its 2 March show in Paris due to coronavirus worries.

Business

Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva Motor Show has been cancelled. Organisers announced the move after Switzerland’s ban on large gatherings. They said it was “increasingly difficult” for delegates to arrange visas and flights, given the escalating Covid-19 crisis. It was the “wise” thing to do, they said, though in reality the organisers of the international event had no choice but to follow the advice of the Swiss government.

Facebook F8 developer conference
Facebook has cancelled F8, its annual conference for developers. The event was scheduled to take place in early May in the San Francisco Bay area. Last year’s talks were attended by more than 5,000 people from around the world. Facebook is planning other ways for its developer community to get together, including livestreams, locally hosted events and videos.

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