PHETCHABUN: The Bao Khao Kho concert next month, featuring Carabao and other bands, has been cancelled out of Covid-19 concerns, the Birdland Resort announced on its webpage.
The concert was planned for Jan 15 at the Birdland Resort at Moo 2 village in tambon Thung Samo of Khao Kho district.
Adisak Akana, alias "Phuyai Bird", the owner of Birdland Resort, said organisers had decided to cancel the event for fear they would not be able to conform with measures dictated by the Public Health Ministry to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, particularly the social distancing rule.
Wuthichai Rojanathipayarak, chairman of the Phetchabun Travel Association, a co-organiser, said that in the fallout from the Big Mountain Music Festival fiasco at Khao Yai he had received advice from several respected people, voicing concerns about Covid-19.
He raised this matter for discussion with other organisers and they appeared uncertain whether the measures prepared for the event would be effective enough to control the open air music fans.
Therefore, the organisers decided to cancel it.
Under the plan, the number of attendees would have been limited to 5,000. About 4,000 tickets had been sold.
Organisers would gradually refund ticket buyers, he said.
Mr Wuthichai the decision to cancel the event was not thereslt of pressure or orders from anyone.
What happened to the Big Mountain Music Festival - which appeared to be overcrowded and the fans did not properly follow the Covid-19 guidelines on the first day, leading to organisers being ordered to cancel the second day's show - led to the rethink, not only over health concerns but also the overall economy of the province, he added.
"What if just one person infected with Covid-19 happened to be among the attendees, we would not be able to take responsibility.
"So we decided to cancel the event until the situation has returned to normal, or when the measures to prevent the spread of the virus have been effective," Mr Wuthichai said.