Download Australia Cancels Festival After My Chemical Romance Postpones Australia and New Zealand Shows

A day after postponing their Japan tour dates, My Chemical Romance has announced they will no longer perform in Australia and New Zealand in March.

The band was scheduled to perform at Download Festival in Melbourne on March 21st and in Sydney on March 22nd, as well as in Western Springs, New Zealand on March 25th. In a Twitter post, My Chemical Romance confirmed that none of the shows will take place, with rescheduled concerts to be announced at a later date.

pic.twitter.com/FcTcHmruBN

— My Chemical Romance (@MCRofficial) March 12, 2020

“It is with heavy hearts that we have decided to postpone our performances in Australia and New Zealand,” the band wrote. “We felt this was the right decision for our fans, our band, our crew, and our families given the current global situation. We apologize to our fans, but please know that we didn’t come to this decision lightly. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to being with you all again as soon as we can. In the meantime, please be good to each other.”

In light of the news, Download Festival decided to cancel this year’s festival. “Given that this announcement has come barely eight days prior to Download Australia we will not be able to secure an alternative headliner as there is insufficient time to secure visas and arrange the other relevant logistics that are required prior to the festival,” the festival wrote in a statement on their website. “As we are unable to deliver a complete line-up to meet the standard that Download fans both expect and deserve, we have very reluctantly made the decision to cancel Download Australia 2020.”

The festival, which noted that all guests will receive full ticket refunds, added, “We are currently working with both My Chemical Romance and Deftones to schedule separate headline shows in Australia in 2020 and will update you all as soon as we have these.”

Earlier this week, My Chemical Romance scrapped their upcoming tour dates in Japan on March 28th, 29th and 31st. The band said, “Please know we are working on rescheduling shows and will try to announce those soon. We are terribly sad to postpone, and even more distressed about what is happening the world over.”

My Chemical Romance, who split back in 2013, have announced extensive tour plans for 2020, including their first North American tour in nine years. The reunion run launches September 9th at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and continues through the next month, wrapping October 11th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Tickets for the tour are currently on sale. The band will also perform in the U.K. and Europe this summer.