Petition · past parliament

Force the organisers of Download Festival to cancel due to Corona Virus.

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

Dowload Festival is scheduled to be held 10th to 14th of June and so far the organisers are saying it is still going ahead and are still selling tickets. This is socially irresponsible in the wake of Corona Virus. Glastonbury - later in the month- has already cancelled. Download should do the same.
80000 attend Download every year, Despite being outdoors, people pack closely together in queues, at the front of the stage and in festival tents. Allowing Download to go ahead would be like the equivalent of signing the death warrant of thousands of people.

They must be forced to cancel and monies refunded.

Why it was rejected

It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.

The Government has stated that no public gatherings of more than two people are currently allowed to take place, which would prevent evens such as festivals going ahead. However, the Government reviews its approach every three weeks, so the cancellation of future events is a matter for individual organisers, and not the Government or Parliament.

You will no doubt have seen that, since you started your petition, the organisers of Download Festival have stated that it will no longer take place this year: https://downloadfestival.co.uk/news-features/download-festival-2020-no-longer-taking-place/

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/

You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/

Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/

Timeline

23 Mar 2020 Petition opened for signatures
28 Apr 2020 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21
Status Rejected
Rejected 28 Apr 2020

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.