Ticketing and events business Eventbrite announced that the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has directly impacted its business outlook and said it is withdrawing its outlook for the first quarter of 2020 due to the “growing impact” of the outbreak.
Fans across the globe head to Eventbrite to buy tickets to gatherings like concerts, festivals, parades, conferences, and sporting events. However, over the weekend, the CDC recommended that people should not attend gatherings of more than 50 people over the next eight weeks in order to help prevent the spread of the virus across the U.S. The U.S. government also deemed the virus a national emergency; venues have closed in New York City and Los Angeles, Broadway closed its doors, major sports leagues suspended operations, and promoter giant Live Nation postponed all tours throughout the rest of the month.
Julia Hartz, Eventbrite’s Chief Executive Officer, noted in a press release Monday morning that “the global pandemic and the impact on the live events industry is unprecedented.”
“We are working diligently to ensure the well-being of our global workforce and support our customers as they make important decisions about their events through this period of time,” Hartz said. “The year started off strong across the board, and we are now seeing a material impact to our business from the virus. While the ultimate magnitude of this near-term impact is unclear at this time, we remain confident in our go forward strategy, our market position and the long-term demand for live experiences.”
Last year, the company grew to a community of 1 million creators, with 4.7 million events across 180 countries. During the year, its revenue rose 12% and reached $327 million. Eventbrite anticipated that those numbers would grow, and during its first quarter, anticipated a revenue of $84 million to $88 million, with a 2020 overall revenue of $342 to $359 million. However, the company has already been directly impacted from loss of events being planned, as well as cancellations. At this time, revised projections have not been released.
As of Tuesday morning, there are over 194,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus with a death toll of over 7,500 globally, CBS News reports.
See our full list of cancelled events here.
