While the news is not unexpected, it's still a massive disappointment to receive official word this afternoon that the Electric Picnic has been cancelled.
With Rage Against The Machine, Snow Patrol, The Chemical Brothers, Picture This and Lewis Capaldi among the headliners, it had the makings of a classic Stradbally long-weekender but, alas, it was not to be.
The government announced on April 21 that musical gatherings of over 5,000 were to be banned until the end of August. There's been no update since, but it's highly unlikely that there will be any relaxation of the ban going into September. Even if there was, construction of the Electric Picnic site, which is comparable to the size of Limerick, would have to start weeks, if not months in advance.
The only thing we can do is promise to have twice as much fun at Electric Picnic 2021!

Here's the Festival Republic statement in full:

CANCELLING OUR FESTIVAL HAS BECOME UNAVOIDABLE, AND WE FULLY SUPPORT THE IRISH GOVERNMENT’S ONGOING MEASURES TO HELP FIGHT THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 AND PROTECT LIVES AT THIS TIME.

Whilst the entire Electric Picnic team are terribly disappointed, we have a responsibility to all our fans, artists, crews, suppliers, sponsors, partners and our entire Electric Picnic family including the wonderful people of Stradbally who have welcomed us into their community each year.

We would like to thank each and every one of them for their fantastic support and outstanding contribution towards making the festival such an amazing event and look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2021 for lots more fun, music, extravagance and magical moments.

Your ticket refund is available from Ticketmaster or other original point of purchase. Please contact them over the next 30 days. If you prefer, for ease, you can retain your ticket and carry it over to next year; you don’t have to do anything.