Carnival time in May: Electric news from Vegas

Organisers of the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) in the United States have said they have the official go-ahead to run their 21-23 May scheduled dates in Las Vegas. It will be the first major music festival to take place in the United States since the pandemic shut down the industry, and will take place over three days at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. EDC had been previously postponed twice last year. A full range of Covid-19 safety measures will be in place, organisers said, having submitted a revised proposal to the Nevada Department of Business and Industry that reportedly ran to 37 pages. Throughout the pandemic, Nevada officials set the state’s Covid-19 protocols and rules for large events, but that authority transitions to local authorities on 1 May. “We are moving forward as planned and will be working closely with local and state officials to make the show as safe as possible,” EDC founder Pasquale Rotella, CEO of Insomniac Events, said on social media. “You can expect the full EDC experience with no details spared, from the festival grounds to the music, stages, art, performers, artists and fireworks!” Rotella had faced the possibility of postponing until October but said his team had been “doing everything we can to make the show happen during these challenging and ever-changing times”. Every attendee will have to download a health pass mobile app to gain entry to EDC. This will link either vaccination records or lab test results. Wearing facemasks will be mandatory for carnival attendees and many international acts will not be able to perform due to Covid-related travel restrictions. However, the event is listed as ‘sold out’ and up to 180,000 attendees can be expected over the three days. “We’re ready to spread our wings and embrace our community who we miss so much,” Rotella added. “We know there may be challenges in front of us, which we accept & do our best to overcome.”