Primavera Sound Cancels All 2024 South American Festivals

The Barcelona-headquartered Primavera Sound revealed that its four Latin American festivals will no longer go on as planned this year.

Primavera Sound had intended to hold festivals in in Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo, as well as Primavera Day events in Montevideo and Asuncion throughout late November and early December. However, festival organizers revealed that due to “external difficulties that prevent us from organizing events at the level that the public who have supported us so much deserves,” these shows have been cancelled.

Alfonso Lanza, director of Primavera Sound, noted in a statement that “this is undoubtedly a difficult decision, taken after many months of work and after pursuing numerous paths in order to be able to hold these events with guarantees, especially in the context of the current musical industry and its challenges.”

“Now that we have exhausted all of the possibilities, we must be prudent and focus all our energy on future plan, Lanza said. “We want to thank our local partners for their dedication and effort, they have given invaluable support for a project in which we continue to believe for its cultural value and for extending the musical routes in the southern hemisphere at atypical times of the year, something that we consider positive for all the parties involved in the process, from fans to artists.”

While the 2024 editions will not commence, Lanza wanted to make it known that “our work does not end here, nor do our ties with Latin America,” and he said organizers are “already looking to the future so that it will happen as soon as possible.”

Ticketholders will be notified via point of purchase regarding refunds.

| READ: Festival Season Hits Lull With Dozens Cancelled This Summer | 

Primavera Sound has held festivals each year in Barcelona since 2001; they’ve also expanded, staging festivals in Los Angeles, Madrid, Chile, and Colombia.

Lanza did not directly comment on the state of the festival scene right now, this year alone has been a chaotic year for festivals across the globe. In Australia, large-name events like Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo festivals have been called-off this year, while Ireland has seen the cancellation of major events like Body and Soul in County Westmeath and Wild Roots in County Sligo.

Even in the U.S., festivals are struggling. Coachella, a once-coveted event, took one month to sell-out of its first weekend — marking the longest sellout for the first time in 10 years. The second weekend failed to sell out. Other festivals didn’t even make the cut, as Firefly announced it would not return to Dover and Jay-Z’s Made in America festival was called-off for the second year in a row. Lovers & Friends’ inaugural festival was also cancelled, as well as Backwoods Festival and Kickoff Jam.

Just last week, California’s Desert Daze four-day event was cancelled less than two weeks after announcing a final lineup. Organizers took to social media to reveal that  it is “no longer possible to execute the weekend as planned,” citing “rising production costs and the current volatile festival market.”