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Organizers for the 2022 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the 2022 Stagecoach Festival will no longer require negative COVID-19 tests or proof of vaccination from attendees. Both festivals are slated to return this year for the first time since 2019, after being cancelled for two years due to the pandemic.
Stagecoach tweeted Tuesday that its rules have changed "in accordance with local guidelines." None of Coachella's social media accounts announced a change, but the rules on Coachella's Health and Safety page state that no masks, tests or vaccinations will be required at the festival.
Websites for both festivals also note that "there is an inherent and elevated risk of exposure to COVID-19 in any public place or place where people are present and there is no guarantee, express or implied, that those attending the festival will not be exposed to COVID-19."
However, the websites say the festivals "shall be presented in accordance with applicable public health conditions as of the date of the event and which may change at any time as determined by federal, state or local government agencies or instrumentalities, artists or the promoter."
The news comes as many major cities in the U.S begin to remove COVID-19 mandates from businesses and large events. In California, where both festivals take place, the state's mask mandate officially ended on Tuesday. When he announced the news, California governor Gavin Newsom cited California's decreasing case rate and hospitalizations.
Following the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, Coachella and Stagecoach were postponed before being cancelled.
The shows were again cancelled in 2021 following a string of outbreaks in California. "If COVID-19 were detected at these festivals, the scope and number of attendees and the nature of the venue would make it infeasible, if not impossible, to track those who may be placed at risk," a public health order cancelling the events read.
When the festival's 2022 dates were announced, Coachella's organizers implemented a mandatory vaccination policy that was changed two weeks later to allow guests with a negative COVID-19 test.
The festivals, operated by festival organizer Goldenvoice, bring in hundreds of thousands of people. Coachella will take place over two weekends, April 15 through 17 and April 22 through 24. Stagecoach is slated for the following weekend.
Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Ye, and Swedish House Mafia will headline Coachella, with additional performances from Phoebe Bridgers, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Caroline Polachek, 100 gecs, Lil Baby and 21 Savage. Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood and Luke Combs will headline Stagecoach.
