USA – The famous Coachella festival in the California desert was canceled for two years in a row due to the corona pandemic. Now the party-goers have finally gotten their money’s worth again.
To the music of stars like Doja Cat, tens of thousands danced through the weekend without masks and with lots of glitter make-up. The US singer shouted “Thank you! I really can’t believe we’re here” on stage, summing up the happiness of many fans after a long absence.
The 26-year-old, who grew up in Los Angeles, performed her disco song “Say So” on Sunday evening in a devil’s costume, with which she made her breakthrough in 2019. She didn’t withhold her upcoming song “Vegas” from the movie “Elvis” from the fans and performed it in an explosive stage show.
The festival started on Friday with Latin American sounds by Anitta: at the opening, the Brazilian singer, along with guests Snoop Dogg and Saweetie, wowed the crowd. But Anitta only made the start for a total of 20 artists from Latin America – more than ever before at Coachella.
last minute changes
29-year-old Anitta made music history earlier this year when she became the first Brazilian to become the world’s number one on Spotify. At the Coachella Festival, she swept the audience along with her reggaeton hit “Envolver”. However, the main performance of the first day belonged to Harry Styles.
In addition to Styles and Doja Cat, headliners included Billie Eilish and Megan Thee Stallion. The Weeknd and the Swedish House Mafia performed together on Sunday. They were written into the program at the last minute after rapper Kanye West canceled his performance just weeks before the festival.
One of the biggest festivals in the world
The mammoth event, which takes place over two three-day weekends, is one of the most visited festivals in the world and traditionally marks the start of the festival summer. In 2020, however, Coachella had to be canceled due to the outbreak of the corona pandemic. A chaotic period of cancellations, postponed shows and line-up changes followed. This year, a total of hundreds of thousands of visitors are again expected in Indio’s Californian desert.
People celebrated in the typical look with glitter eyeshadow, floral wreaths and neon colors – but despite a new wave of corona infections without masks and other health restrictions. There were two corona test sites on the festival site. For most visitors, however, the pandemic did not seem to play a major role. “We just want to have fun. I don’t want to think about it tonight,” said Sarah Jones, 26, from Oregon.
In California, the number of corona cases has recently increased again. Some universities have therefore reintroduced the mask requirement – but overall, like most parts of the United States, there are few health regulations in California.
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