After announcing just weeks ago that he would be bringing a new three-day festival to his hometown of Toronto, Drake has had to unceremoniously postpone the concert after testing positive for COVID.
Billed as the October World Weekend, the shows would have taken place July 28-29 and August 1 around the city. The festival was set to include Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj as part of a Young Money reunion, as well as Lil Baby, Chris Brown, and the All Canadian Northstars. Drake had promoted the event as a hype machine for the ten-year anniversary of his famed OVO Fest. In June, Drake had surprise-released his latest album Honestly, Nevermind, and this will put a brief hold on his plans to perform the record.
“I will keep the city posted and share the new date whenever we have it locked,” Drake shared on a post to his Instagram stories to announce the concert’s postponement. “Until then I hope everyone stays happy and healthy and I love you all. I am sorry for letting you down on our weekend together and the moment I test negative I will give you everything I got on stage (except the Covid).”
The last-minute cancellation had to have left many fans in a lurch who traveled to Canada expressly for the shows. But it’s yet another reminder that COVID is still real and calling the shots sometimes — even if we’d like to pretend it’s not. Here’s hoping that the reconfigured festival will be even bigger and better.
