THE Montreux Jazz Festival will not be held in July due to the coronavirus pandemic, the first time the Swiss summer festival has not taken place since its launch in 1967, organizers said Friday.

As the government is keeping most hygiene and social distancing measures in place for now, it is impossible to consider holding an event on such a scale, a statement said. The two-week festival along Lake Geneva draws nearly 250,000 people every year.

Last year’s eclectic line-up featured Elton John, Sting, Janet Jackson, Chick Corea and Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke.

Veteran American producer Quincy Jones, a former co-director of Montreux who still participates each year, calls it the “Rolls-Royce of festivals.”

(SD-Agencies)