LISBON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Portuguese government announced on Thursday that it will ban all music festivals until Sept. 30.
"It is necessary to prohibit the holding of music festivals, until September 30, 2020 " due to the pandemic, said a statement by the Council of Ministers.
The statement added that the government has adopted an exceptional regime "aimed at music festivals that cannot be held at the scheduled place, day or time," to protect consumers' rights.
If shows, scheduled between Feb. 28 and Sept. 30, are not performed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the consumers will be provided with "a voucher of equal value to the ticket price paid," it explained.
Portugal's Association of Promoters and Shows, Festivals and Events (APEFE) has said that nearly 25,000 cultural events have been canceled, postponed or suspended between March 8 and May 31.
"This (the pandemic) is an unprecedented crisis in the culture market in Portugal, a very serious problem of subsistence and survival for thousands of people and companies," APEFE said early last month.
As of Thursday, Portugal has reported a total of 26,715 COVID-19 cases, with 1,105 deaths, according to the epidemiological bulletin released by the General Directorate of Health. Enditem
