We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, 2020 is a year nobody saw coming. Naturally, this means that big name events—both national and international—had to adapt to survive. And if you, like so many other people of the world, found yourself seeking a refund for those tickets to attend, you’re probably wondering what happened to other big events that the world was looking forward to? We bring you the lowdown of what transpired in the world of big events.
Tokyo Olympics 2020
The mush-awaited Tokyo Olympics 2020 that was scheduled to open in on July 24th, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s the first time in their 124-year history that the Olympics have been moved or delayed during what’s considered peacetime. According to recent reports, the Olympic Games will now be between July 23, 2012 to August 8, 2010. Japan wants to ensure everyone is vaccinated before they light that torch.
NH7 Weekender
This annual, multi-city and multi-genre, music and comedy festival is among the largest South Asian arts festivals. What began in Pune, Maharashtra, India, as a three-day, multi-genre, music festival in 2010 and has now become a rage among music aficionados—old and young, alike. This year, the three-day-long event went digital to ensure patrons could sit in the comfort of their homes to enjoy this virtual party and watch the concerts live. The tickets were sold at a reduced rate to ensure more people could tune in. And this year, netizens could performances by artists like The Lumineers, Prateek Kuhad, Vidya Vox, and Rajakumari, to name a few.
Lakme Fashion Week
While the pandemic took its toll on all industries, those must-await fashion events of the year took a serious hit. The pioneer of all fashion shows in India, the Lakme Fashion Week took a digital curtain call. The focus of this renewed and re-envisioned extravaganza was to support designers and artisans through a virtual showroom, keeping sustainability at the forefront. While designers have said to miss the live show and the excitement it carries with it, the virtual format made the exclusive event accessible to a larger audience.
Sunburn
Sunburn, Asia’s largest electronic dance music festival took place on 30th and 31st December, breaking the tradition of being held at Vagator Beach, Goa. However, 2020 meant a whole new festival experience, hence it was a great live virtual experience for the EDM lovers which streamed on Facebook with a lineup of amazing artists like Nucleya, Teri Miko, etc.
T20 World Cup
The T20 World Cup 2020, which was scheduled to open in Australia from October 18 October to 15 November 2020 is rescheduled to open in India in October 2021. . This decision was taken in the wake of the pandemic, and to ensure the complete safety of its players and the large audience it welcomes.
Indian Premier League (IPL)
Scheduled to start on March 29, the IPL was later postponed to April 15. However, with the nationwide lockdown enforced to fight the coronavirus pandemic, it witnessed a further delay and finally took place from September 19 to November 10, 2020 in Dubai, telecasted live on Star Sports and Hotstar There were no spectators in the stadium, making it a first-ever tournament of its kind, albeit ensuring the utmost safety. However, the matches were telecast live and even featured massive screens with a lucky few winners being telecast to the players, and other online spectators to help boost morale. After a great competition, Mumbai Indians emerged as the winners.
India Couture Week (ICW)
ICW is an intriguing display of exclusive couture by A list designers, usually taking place in the second half of every year. The collections featured consist of garments with high-end embroideries, detailing, and silhouettes in both, Indian and indo-western themes. This time around, the event went digital and streamed on ICW’s official YouTube and other social media handles. It was held between September 18th to 20th, and saw designers put together 10 to 12 minute long videos, displaying their collections from various strategic locations. The couture week featured eminent designers like Amit Aggarwal, Anju Modi, Falguni Shane Peacock, Gaurav Gupta, Manish Malhotra, Shantanu & Nikhil, among others.
