Tag: canceled

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NYC Pride March Canceled For 1st Time In 50-Year History

(photo via TheOUTfront.com)
For the first time in its half-century history, the NYC Pride March, has been along with all in-person events leading up to the annual June event, has been canceled. From NBC News:

Heritage of Pride, the organization that runs the march, made the announcement Monday, shortly after New York Mayor Bill De Blasio announced the cancellation of permits for all large events for the month of June.

“This probably will not surprise you,” De Blasio said at a coronavirus briefing before announcing the cancellation of June’s Celebrate Israel, Puerto Rican Day and LGBTQ pride parades. The mayor promised these events would go on in some format “when it’s the right time.”

“This year is the 50th anniversary of the pride parade, and it’s a very, very big deal,” De Blasio said in Monday’s briefing. “That march is such an important part of life in this city, but this year in particular it was going to be something that was a historic moment.”

That first pride march, held in June 1970 a year after the Stonewall riots, is often regarded as the beginning of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. Last year’s events, celebrating the Stonewall uprising, drew more than 5 million people to the city. This year’s NYC Pride events were scheduled to commence June 14 with Janelle Monaé and Pussy Riot set to perform. Heritage of Pride has announced a plan to coordinate with InterPride, an international organization comprised of local, regional and national pride planning organizations, to participate in a 24-hour virtual, online “Global Pride” scheduled for June 27. “The plan is to have this 24-hour program that will be a worldwide celebration of pride,” said Ron deHarte, co-president of the United States Association of Prides and a member of the InterPride organizing committee. “It will peak in time zones around the world, and in each of those time zones, those regional pride organizations and those local pride organizations will be directly involved in that programming component,” added deHarte. Several major cities in the U.S. have already announced similar news about their local Pride events. Los Angeles postponed, San Francisco canceled and Seattle plans to “go virtual.”

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Amid Coronavirus Concerns, Madonna Forced To Cancel Final ‘Madame X’ Dates

Matt Rettenmund's front row ticket to Madonna's Madame X concert

Coronavirus cancels Madonna’s final two ‘Madame X’ dates
Even the Queen of Pop can’t escape the reach of the coronavirus epidemic. Calm yourselves – no, Madonna hasn’t become infected by the virus. But because the French government is currently prohibiting gatherings of over 1,000 in public, Madge’s last two performances of her Madame X tour have been canceled. The concerts, scheduled to take place later this week at the 2,800 seat Grand Rex in Paris, could not be rescheduled. A statement posted to Madonna’s official website read:

Following official notification from the Office of the Police this morning prohibiting all events with an audience attendance of over 1000, Live Nation regrets to announce the final two Madame X performances previously re-scheduled to 10-March and 11-March are forced to be canceled. Tickets are refundable at point of purchase. We regret the disappointment to fans.

Madonna posted her own message to fans via Instagram, writing, “A Bittersweet Farewell. One of the most magical experiences of my life. I take nothing for granted. Thank you Paris.”

According to news outlet France 24, France’s tally of coronavirus cases has reached 1,412 including the country’s Culture Minister, Franck Riester. There have been 25 coronavirus-related deaths in France reported. Madonna wasn’t alone in canceling her shows. Pearl Jam has postponed its North American tour due to coronavirus concerns, and Pentatonix has postponed the European leg of the World Tour. While she may deem her tour a ‘magical’ experience, Madge has trudged on city by city despite injuries sustained in rehearsal. She’s been forced to cancel over a dozen performances due to “unbearable pain,” and has seen two class-action lawsuits filed against her for shows that began hours late. Along the way, she’s shared videos of post-show ice baths and walking with the assistance of a cane on days off.

Take a bow, Madonna. Well-earned.

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Madonna Cancels/Postpones Concerts Due To ‘Overwhelming’ Pain

Madonna rests up over Thanksgiving holiday (image via Instagram)
Bad news for Boston! Madonna has announced via Instagram that she has been forced to cancel all three performances of her Madame X concert tour in Boston due to “overwhelming” pain. The 61-year-old pop star, who says her current show brings her “so much joy,” admits in the post that the decision wasn’t made lightly but is necessary to “rest and follow doctor’s orders” in order to “come back stronger and better and continue the Madame X journey with all of you.”

The canceled dates were scheduled for November 30 and December 1-2 at Boston’s Wang Theatre, and unfortunately, they will not be rescheduled for some time in the future. “As we are unable to reschedule the Boston dates due to the tight scheduling through the balance of the year, refunds will be automatically issued to the credit card on which they were ordered,” read a statement on Madonna’s official website. A new post on the pop star’s website Friday morning announced the schedule for her concerts in Europe would also be reshuffled. “The Madame X 2020 tour will relaunch in Lisbon on 12-January where it plays 8 sold-out shows through January 23rd. It then proceeds to London whereas a result of the highly specialized production elements, the Madame X Tour date originally slated for Sunday, 26-January at the London Palladium will now be rescheduled to Sunday, 16-February becoming the final date in the 15-show run in this city. There is no change to the additional performances 27, 29 & 30 January and 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 15-February,” read the announcement. Shortly thereafter, a second update went up regarding a shift of Madge’s Paris dates: “As a result of the highly specialized production elements, the first two Madonna’s Madame X Tour dates in Paris originally slated for Tuesday, 18-February and Wednesday, 9-February have been rescheduled to 10-March and 11-March respectively. There is no change to the additional performances on 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29-February and 1, 3,4, 7 & 8-March.” Although she doesn’t share the nature of her injuries, the BBC reports earlier this month Madge “told fans in San Francisco she was suffering from a “torn ligament” and a “bad knee.” The Queen of Pop hasn’t been shy about sharing her post-show routine which has included 3 a.m. ice baths taken in stride while her family and tour team cheers her on.

The BBC notes that while Madonna “is notoriously reluctant to cancel shows, abandoning only a handful of dates over the course of her 37-year career,” the Madame X tour has had some setbacks. The debut performance of the tour in New York had to be pushed back due to production issues. And once the three-week residency began at Brooklyn’s Howard Gilman Opera House, one of the NYC dates had to be canceled due to injury. The opening night performance of the tour in Los Angeles was called off as well. Madge shared pics and video of her resting on Thanksgiving Day including singing a bit of Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road.”

The Madame X tour is scheduled to re-commence in Philadelphia on December 7 for four nights at the Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia. (source: BBC)