With the increase of COVID-19 vaccinations across the United States, many people are becoming more relaxed with health and safety precautions, as recently seen with artists such as Kodak Black and Machine Gun Kelly performing shows at full capacity venues in front of thousands of people. The longing for the world's highly anticipated "return to normal" is at an all-time high, and now it appears that a popular US music festival has fallen victim to it.
On Thursday, Variety revealed that it had received an exclusive tip from Lollapalooza that the beloved Chicago music festival had received the go-ahead to put on a four-day music festival later this summer. After previous reports that music festivals like Rolling Loud would be taking place this summer, the idea that Lollapalooza would be returning in 2021 didn't seem far-fetched, but according to CBS Chicago, Lollapalooza hasn't officially gotten the "go-ahead" that is touted throughout the Variety exclusive.
Although a full reopening is slated for Illinois as early as next month, the Chicago City Hall has reportedly not given Lollapalooza a clear "yes" or "no" to resume operations this summer. That news is extremely concerning for fans because, as CBS Chicago has reported, Variety's reporting has already gotten fans prepared to pile back into Grant Park at the end of July.
Replying to the hazy situation, Chicago's City Hall has issued an official statement, which states, "The Mayor’s Office and CDPH have been in conversation with several large event organizers, including the team at Lollapalooza, on how to bring these experiences back to Chicago in safe way. We are taking these events case by case and determining how we can ensure the safety of our patrons. While conversations have been moving forward in a positive way, nothing has been confirmed."
Judging from the public commentary from Chicago's city officials, there still appears to be a possibility that Lollapalooza will return in the coming months, but as of now, nothing is certain. Stay tuned for more updates as this story develops.
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