Las Vegas Festival EDC to Be Held Despite COVID Safety Plan Not Approved
The Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), one of North America's largest electronic dance music festivals, is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas next month amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The three-day event, which in 2019 saw over 465,000 people attend across three days, is going ahead despite its COVID-19 safety plan being denied by the Nevada Department of Business & Industry (B&I).
Pasquale Rotella, CEO of event promoter Insomniac, announced Thursday: "We are moving forward as planned & will be working closely with local & state officials to make the show as safe as possible," in a post on Instagram.
"You can expect the full EDC experience with no details spared, from the festival grounds to the music, stages, art, performers, artists & fireworks!...more details on safety protocols & the lineup will be shared soon," the post said.
Insomniac submitted "a robust safety plan" to Nevada officials last month, according to a March 26 Instagram post by Rotella.
The plan sought approval to hold the festival at full capacity, with around 200,000 people estimated to attend per day. Some of the proposed safety measures outlined in the plan included the creation of a regulated "clean zone" where guests, staff members and performers would be verified via a health pass mobile app as either fully vaccinated or confirmed to have tested negative for COVID-19, the Las Vegas Weekly reported.
Insomniac's plan was rejected by B&I as it failed to meet capacity and social distancing requirements. The plan stated the organizer did not feel social distancing was necessary for the festival because of other requirements it fulfills and because it is an outdoor event.
According to the latest state guidelines, public gatherings and events are limited to "250 individuals or 50 percent of fire code capacity, whichever is less, under strict social distancing requirements."
Events with more than 250 people may be held with up to 50 percent of fire code capacity following approval from B&I after submitting a "Large Gathering Certification form."
According to a spokesperson for B&I, no revised safety plan has been submitted or approved for the festival.
The Nevada state government website says: "All Large Gathering Certifications must be submitted to Nevada Department of Business and Industry (B&I). Failure to complete all requested information and certify that all required mitigation measures will be followed may result in the event being delayed, disapproved or closed.
Once an approved certification is filed with the relevant local authority, "local jurisdictions will have the primary responsibility for enforcing compliance with the requirements outlined in this guidance and in the certification form," the state government adds.
Newsweek has contacted Insomniac, B&I, the Las Vegas city government and the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services for comment.
Back in late March, Rotella noted on Instagram: "If our plan is approved, we will move forward with the May 21-23 dates, and if not, EDC will be moved to October.
"To the Headliners asking that we move the show now, I hear your concerns. We also need to consider the Headliners who have struggled through this year & need EDC and the support of our community in their lives. We'd love to be able to pull the show off and bring light back into their lives sooner rather than later," the post said at the time.
The latest festival announcement comes as total confirmed cases in Nevada approach 306,400, with 5,313 total reported deaths, as of Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The state's seven-day average of cases declined from early January, after rising sharply from mid-September, and flattened out from late February, according to data compiled by Worldometer.
Over 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered across the state, according to the latest report Thursday from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The wider picture
Coronavirus has infected more than 134 million people, including more than 31 million in the U.S., since it was first reported in Wuhan, China.
More than 2.9 million people have died worldwide and more than 76.1 million have recovered as of Friday, according to Johns Hopkins.
The graphic below, produced by Statista, shows the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses distributed and administered in the U.S.
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