Chicago's 2020 Ravinia Summer Festival Has Been Canceled

The 2020 Ravinia Festival, in Chicago, has been cancelled – due to the ongoing threat of the COVID-19 virus

It has been announced this week that the 2020 Ravinia Festival, in Chicago, has been cancelled – due to the ongoing threat of the COVID-19 virus.

Founded in 1904 and recognized as the oldest music festival in the United States, the annual summer event was scheduled to take place from the 12th of June through to the 16th of September.

The festival was to have presented more than 120 events - including the summer residency of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The administration is now looking into ways to hold virtual concerts, lectures, master classes and rehearsals.

“The crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted so much of our lives in dramatic ways ... Ravinia will do its part in helping the nation recover and we will celebrate that recovery with music under the stars next summer,” Ravinia Festival Board Chairman Don Civgin has this week said.

Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, the festival's summer conservatory, will also be closed.