Las Vegas music festival canceled Saturday because of high winds, but organizers are still on track to sell out the three-day event, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.
Tickets sold out in less than an hour for headliners Taylor Swift and Kanye West on Friday, and a sellout for Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga on Saturday.
The last official count of festivalgoers was 9,965, according to the Associated Press, a number that could change as a result of the cancellation.
Tickets will be honored at an emergency sale scheduled for 9 a.m. CST (noon ET Saturday). Those who don’t buy the tickets will receive an email advising them to return in seven days for a new resale.
In a statement, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said, “A high wind warning was issued for the festival and our emergency decision to cancel the festival and reschedule the event is complete.”
The festival was scheduled to be held Aug. 19-21.
“Due to a high wind event, the festival will not be held on Saturday, Aug. 21, but will move forward as scheduled on Sunday Aug. 22, with Sunday’s concerts continuing as planned,” the organization said in its statement.
On Friday, the city of New York issued a similar blast, saying the festival, which was scheduled to take place Aug. 20-23, will now be called the “Vegas 21.”
The headliners will be announced in the coming days, but the most likely candidates include Swift and Lady Gaga. Swift’s concert is at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The “Hamilton” star has been performing at the festival twice before, performing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the CropdublinhFest in June.
Lady Gaga is an honorary inductee of the music festival’s Hall of Fame, but she was scheduled to headline the Vegas 21 festival. She has been performing at the festival twice before, performing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the CropdublinhFest in June.
“A lot of people are really excited for her and she is a great performer,” said Steve Rubell, chairman of the Las Vegas Convention