Throughout the year, and especially during the summer months, Croatia’s event calendar is overloaded with festivals, but 2020 is no normal year. From packed music festivals to smaller events, all of these could well now be cancelled. At the daily press conference of the National Civil Protection Headquarters, Krunoslav Capak, director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, commented on the holding of the festivals this year in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We cannot confirm or deny whether there will be festivals, but whoever needs to plan something in the long run, I would say that it is not wise to plan for a festival," stated Capak.

He added that "At this point, I would not recommend anyone who is preparing to hold a festival in the next six months, to do plan anything if it is a festival." said Capak. He also added that all open-air festivals are at risk of being cancelled.

"Holding such open fairs is a risk. We will not, for the time being, loosen the measures relating to such events, it will be near the end of the loosening of the measures if the epidemiological situation permits," he concluded.