DOWNTOWN — After being canceled last year because of coronavirus, Lollapalooza is set to return this summer, according to a report.
The music fest, which annually attracts 100,000 to Grant Park, is set to return July 29-Aug. 1, Variety magazine reports. The fest will be allowed to return at “near-to or full-capacity” with an announcement expected next week, according to the report.
Asked about the report, Asha Binbek, a mayor’s spokeswoman, said “conversations have been moving forward in a positive way” but a final decision on Lolla has not been made.
“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,” Binbek said. “ … We are taking these events case by case and determining how we can ensure the safety of our patrons.”
The Chicago Park District has placed an administrative reservation on Grant Park July 14-Aug. 6.
In March, Lollapalooza co-founder and Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell said he was holding out hope the fest would return with a smaller capacity in August.
Farrell said if people can “stay on course, get vaccinated, stay socially distanced and masked up, maybe — please, God, maybe — we’ll get to go to Chicago in early August in one capacity or another.”
Last year, festivals, parades, neighborhood events came to a screeching halt in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. With the vaccine rollout underway, Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot have been loosening restrictions.
The state will only allow festivals, large events and conventions when Illinois moves into Phase 5 of its reopening plan. Last week, Pritzker said all of Illinois could move into Phase 5 as soon as June 11, so long as coronavirus metrics stabilize or continue to fall.
Pitchfork is tentatively planned for Sept. 10-12 in Union Park, according to the Tribune. Riot Fest organizers have started promoting their festival at Douglass Park for Sept. 17-19. ARC Music Festival, a new house and techno festival, is slated for Labor Day weekend.
C3 Presents, which organizes Lollapalooza, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Block Club Chicago’s coronavirus coverage is free for all readers. Block Club is an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom.
Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Already subscribe? Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.
Listen to “It’s All Good: A Block Club Chicago Podcast” here: