Festival season 2022 is off to a rocky start. With the recent severe rise in the cases of Omicron, Playa del Carmen has increased restrictions. The state of Quintana Roo has entered the yellow tier indicating locals are to take precautions and activities are limited. Departure Festival has been forced to cancel at the last minute.
Departure Festival announced via Instagram:
It is with an incredibly heavy heart that on the weekend of our show, after 10 days of building and months of planning, we have been instructed that we cannot operate Departure.
We have been liaising with local authorities from Playa del Carmen and with the recent severe rise in the cases of Omicron in the past few days, the Governor announced last night that the state of Quintana Roo is returning to yellow tier COVID restrictions and therefore we cannot continue with a show of this size as planned. You will be refunded and offered a $200 credit to a future Pollen experience, your hotel booking is not affected and you may continue your stay.
We know so many of you have travelled so far to be here – it breaks our hearts that we can’t put on the incredible experience that we had planned.
For those that are already here, we sincerely hope that you can continue to enjoy the incredible location.
For further questions, please contact @Pollen via live chat on the Pollen app or via SMS on: 25931.
Techno artist Amelie Lens shared on her Instagram yesterday (January 6, 2022) she wouldn’t be playing on day 1 of the festival.
Needless to say, those who have purchased tickets, airfare and arranged accommodations are not the least pleased. Some have even compared it to the infamous FYRE festival citing “You guys were still pouring concrete yesterday. You were not prepared.” (via @koryadams7)
