Coronavirus Outbreak Causes Multiple Media Events In Hollywood To Be Canceled Or Postponed

As the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the nation, more Hollywood events are starting to be postponed as precautionary measures to combat the virus.

So far, over 93,000 people have been affected with the virus worldwide throughout 77 countries, with approximately 3,200 deaths.

The virus is also spreading quickly throughout the US, with 108 confirmed cases.

On Thursday, the US Senate passed a spending bill of $3.8 billion in an attempt to put an end to the virus.

According to Deadline, industry events that have been canceled so far include Comcast’s Freewheel Upfronts set for March 12, Fox News’ Upfronts set for March 24 and Fox Entertainments’ program development presentations, which were initially scheduled to take place in New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles late March. Disney has also canceled its European press launch initially set for March 5, while the London Book Fair, one of the largest international literary events, has been canceled. Set to take place March 10-12, the event was expecting over 25,000 attendees, including publishers, authors agents, and more.

On March 4, Sony Pictures Entertainment closed up shop, shutting down its offices in London, Paris, Gdynia, and Poland for a week.

There’s also been a growing list of festival cancelations, including the Bentonville Film Festival in Arkansas scheduled for April 29-May 2, Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia from March 12-21, The Ultra Music Festival in Miami from March 20-22 and the International Film Festival in Switzerland.

Furthermore, Starz, Lionsgate, WarnerMedia/ CNN, Netflix, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, and Universal Music Group have each backed out of their scheduled appearances at popular film, music and tech festival SXSW, scheduled for March 13-22 in Austin, Texas.

As far as sports go, the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics is cautiously waiting to see how the virus plays out to decide whether or not they will postpone from July to later this year.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Grand Prix has been completely canceled, while Italy’s Serie A games have either been postponed or played in an empty stadium.

The World Athletics Indoor Championships has been rescheduled from March 13-15 to March 2021.

Theme Parks have also been affected.

Shanghai Disney Resort closed Shanghai Disneyland on January 25; Which includes Walt Disney Grand Theatre and Wishing Star Park. Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea have been closed since February 29 and are scheduled to open March 15.

Same case with Universal Studios, which was closed February 29 to March 15; however it depends on the status of the virus on when the park will reopen, according to the operator of The Oriental Land Co.

As far as concerts go, K-Pop group BTS canceled several shows in South Korea, while Greenday has postponed March tour dates in Asia.

The Korea Times Music Festival has also been postponed.

Production in Hollywood, including Paramount’s Mission: Impossible 7, has also been affected as the cast & crew were scheduled to film in Italy. However, production has been postponed until the government cancels all public gatherings.

CBS’ The Amazing Race season 33 was filming in England and Scotland but has been put on hold until further notice.

According to the New York Times, The University of Washington has closed its campus, canceling all classes, moving to “remote learning” during coronavirus outbreak.