Music and lantern festival Rise DXB, which was due to take place in Dubai for the first time this month, has been postponed indefinitely.
The festival, which culminates with the largest lantern release in the world, was announced last year with an original date of November 2019. However, that date was pushed back to December, and then further postponed until February 2020.
Those who had pre-registered an interest in the festival have now received an email to say the event has been postponed indefinitely, with concerns over its environmental impact seemingly at the forefront.
“As you know, we’ve been planning with partners, stakeholders and authorities over the past year as we explore the opportunity of hosting our first ever festival outside of the US,” the email reads. “These discussions are still on-going, and with sustainability always at the forefront of our decision-making process, we have ultimately decided to postpone Rise Dubai until we can execute the festival to our highest level standards; for both participants and for the environment.”
Rise first launched in Las Vegas in 2014, and takes place in November, welcoming more than 100,000 visitors. As well as bringing together musical acts, it features a large-scale release of custom-created, biodegradable lanterns that are free from plastic or metal.
The Dubai iteration of the festival was due to take place at Al Qudra, sparking environmental concerns of the impact the festival could have on the surrounding area from some residents. Organisers however promised to leave the area “better than they found it”, promising to collect all lanterns from the dunes after the release, as well as any other litter left from the festival.
The email adds, “Although we are disappointed that we cannot bring the magic of Rise to the Emirates sooner, we know that this is the beginning of something big”.
