Cancellation of the Festival d’été de Québec 2020

It is with regret that the Festival d’été de Québec team announces that due to the exceptional global situation caused by the ongoing pandemic, it is forced to cancel its annual Festival which was to be held from, July 9 to 19.

A Difficult but Obvious Choice
Given the evolving situation of the Covid-19 pandemic and all of its impacts, it would be neither prudent nor realistic for the organization to continue its efforts. The consideration for the safety of its festival goers, its employees and its collaborators, the impossibility for the FEQ teams to catch up on the preparatory work necessary for the holding of the event, as well as the growing uncertainty about border restrictions have led the organization to make this decision.

“This situation saddens us very much, but the health of all is our priority. We support the government in its management of this unprecedented crisis. We can only salute the measures deployed, which will allow us to reunite with our festival goers, in good health, in 2021. We are dealing with unfortunate circumstances that no one could have predicted and whose repercussions are felt at every level of our organization. With its major economic impacts and its power of mobilization for the region, we are convinced that the FEQ will be part of the solution for reviving the economy in Québec in the aftermath of the crisis,” reports Anne Hudon, Director General of FEQ.

Systematic Refund Within 30 Days
Festival goers will be reimbursed for General Admission passes, Zone Front Stage cards, as well as Bell Signature Zone cards, as stipulated in the FEQ’s purchasing policies. Festival goers will not need to contact the ticket office or their credit card issuer: refunds will be made to the credit card used for the transaction within the next 30 days. The organization has also created an information page for the festival goers: https://www.feq.ca/Info-pratique/Covid-19.

Considerable Impact
The FEQ is the result of the work of hundreds of people including employees, artists, volunteers and collaborators. The organization also owns the Imperial Bell: all of its teams are therefore affected by the situation. It was reluctantly that the FEQ had to make several temporary layoffs, which became necessary to allow the non-for-profit to navigate the crisis. In addition to the employees, many suppliers, collaborators and partners are unfortunately just as affected by the turn of events. The FEQ, an important socio-economic driver in Québec, will now take advantage of this break to try to come back stronger in 2021.

The FEQ cannot ignore the colossal contribution of its many public and private partners, who participate year after year in the success of the Festival. The FEQ would like to warmly thank Bell, Coors Light, Desjardins, SiriusXM, Loto-Québec, Hydro-Québec, Les Producteurs de lait du Québec, FORD, the SAQ, Pepsi Alex Coulombe, Rio Tinto, Amarula, Groupe Voyages Québec, Bacardi, YQB, Canadian Heritage, Canada Economic Development, the ministère du Tourisme du Québec, the Secrétariat à la Capitale-Nationale, the SODEC, the Ville de Québec, Québec City Tourism, The National Battlefields Commission, the Commission de la capitale nationale du Québec and Parks Canada.

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About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.