Ableton’s Loop summit, a creative gathering for music makers that was set to take place in Berlin on April 24 to 26, has been postponed until 2021, it’s been confirmed. This is due to health and safety concerns related to the worldwide outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus.
A statement from Ableton reads as follows: “The health and safety of our attendees is our concern above all else. The Berlin Health Administration has already announced a ban on large-scale events until mid-April 2020. Given the international nature of our event, we are not confident that we can ensure well-being to a level that is acceptable for us to deliver Loop in six weeks’ time. We are deeply saddened to be forced to take this step but consider it essential in the face of the ongoing viral outbreak, and the guidance we have received from authorities.
“Alongside health considerations, we’re mindful of travel restrictions/cancellations as the situation develops globally. We cannot accept a Loop that is any less than what you expect from us, and we do not want to push forward at the expense of those who cannot make it through no fault of their own.
“We sincerely hope that all those who planned to attend Loop can reschedule plans to join us in 2021. We’re fixing dates with our venues, and have begun a dialog with all of our partners, artists and speakers, all of whom we hope to rebook.
“We’ve developed a wonderful program that we’re proud of and our aim is to deliver in April 2021 the same Loop that we’ve been devoted to for the last 18 months.
“Though it cannot relieve the inconvenience this will no doubt cause many of you, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has supported Loop – ticket holders, all those we’ve booked and their representatives. We humbly ask for patience as we manage the transition to a new date, and support the needs of all those affected by this change.”
Confirmed dates and venue, speaker, artist and partner details for Loop 2021 will be announced in due course, but Abeton says that it hopes to deliver broadly the same event that it had planned for 2020. Ticket holders will be contacted and have a choice between a full refund (minus Eventbrite’s booking fee) or tickets for the 2021 event.
The decision to cancel Loop throws fresh doubt on the viability of Superbooth, the Berlin synth event that’s scheduled for 23 to 25 April. The organisers released a statement last week saying that they planned to go ahead, but were monitoring developments. We’ll bring you any further news as it comes in.
