Production teams usually responsible for building stages at Coachella have now turned to helping build coronavirus triage tents and temporary hospital structures in the US in a bid to combat the deadly disease.

The California festival was due to be held this year on the weekends of April 10–12 and April 17–19, but on March 10 it was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Coachella 2020 is now set for October 9–11 and October 16–18.

A new feature in The LA Times details how production firms such as Choura Events and Gallagher Staging — who normally build tents, staging and facilities for festivals like Coachella and major sporting events — are now utilising their expertise and workforce to help in the fight against coronavirus in the US.

With entire calendars wiped clean due to the coronavirus, these companies have suddenly been thrust from the forefront of festival season onto the front lines of the pandemic, using their skills to build triage tents.

“We pivoted so fast to being a rapid-response disaster relief team. If I didn’t know how to do Coachella, I couldn’t do this hospital,” Choura told The LA Times. “I saw patients coming in here and saw what they looked like. This is real, and we’ve got to move.”

Choura said that the work that companies like his are doing are “bringing good into a really bad situation”.

“I’ve got 14 guys on this site building who would be sitting at home,” he said. “I’ve been more fulfilled over the last few weeks than over the last decade. It’s very meaningful to feel like you’re part of saving a life.”