Panorama Festival Not Returning in 2019: Exclusive

AEG says the festival will go on hiatus and focus on finding a permanent home at Flushing Meadows.

The AEG and Goldenvoice-backed Panorama Music Festival will not return in 2019, ending weeks of speculation about the three-year-old New York City festival on Randall's Island.

There is still hope Panorama could return in 2020 at Flushing Meadows, with AEG releasing a statement that the company plans to "continue discussions with NYC Parks to bring the festival to Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, where it was originally envisioned."

Partially booked and envisioned by Coachella co-founder Paul Tollett, Panorama Festival was supposed to take place in Queens on the site of the 1939 World Fair, taking its name from the park's giant scale model of the city while borrowing Flushing Meadows' iconic Unisphere for the festival's website. But soon after word began to spread that AEG was planting its festival flag in New York, the organizers of Governors Ball protested the festival's timing, which had been scheduled just two weeks after their event. It was later revealed that AEG had been in talks to buy Governors Ball from Founders Entertainment and that talks had eventually collapsed with AEG deciding to enter the New York festival space on its own.

Eventually New York Mayor Bill De Blasio and NYC Parks negotiated a compromise between the two sides, moving Panorama to Randalls Island and pushing the festival back into July, seven weeks after Governors Ball. Founders Entertainment, which created Governors Ball, was acquired by Live Nation in 2016, and AEG officials have continued to pursue a permit for a Flushing Meadows event. Last year's Panorama was hit with severe weather, forcing it to cancel the first day of the event.

Below is the statement from AEG announcing the postponement:

Panorama will be taking a hiatus in 2019 while we continue discussions with NYC Parks to bring the festival to Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, where it was originally envisioned.  

We had a fantastic experience with Paul Simon this past September at Flushing Meadows and look forward to returning in the future. 

We were disappointed in NYC Parks denial of our permit application despite the long term benefits this event would deliver to the community and the park.  

While we have enjoyed our time on Randall’s Island and its great facilities, we feel that we have achieved all that we can at this site. We look forward to continued conversations with City Parks to explore making the Flushing Meadows site a reality. Until then, we thank the fans and artists who supported the event for the last 3 years of fantastic performances.