After weeks of speculation, Lollapalooza, the Air and Water Show and Taste of Chicago have been cancelled by city officials, according to Block Club Chicago.

The article reported the city announced that all large permitted outdoor events have been cancelled through Labor Day, Sept. 7. 

The recent cancellations of Chicago’s popular summer festivities are due to concerns over the novel coronavirus pandemic. 

Chicago is still fighting large numbers of COVID-19 cases which can be vastly spread through large crowds. As of today, there are over 128,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Illinois. 

Block Club Chicago reports that, in total, the city has had 48,351 people test positive and reported 2,285 people deaths from COVID-19. 

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that the city is looking for ways to transform and renovate these events that will prioritize the health and safety of Chicago. 

“We must provide ways for people to enjoy the spirit of a Chicago summer while prioritizing health and safety,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a press release reported by Block Club Chicago. “As difficult as it is to remove these in-person events from our calendar, we are pulling out all the stops for an inventive, engaging and fun festival season this summer.”

Taste of Chicago is a food festival held in Grant Park for five days in July. It also has live music and performances. This year the city will transform Taste of Chicago into “Taste of Chicago To-Go.” There will be food trucks and online cooking demos from July 8-12. 

Lollapalooza is an annual four-day music festival in Grant Park which has had at least 400,000 attendees each year. According to Block Club Chicago, this year Chicago plans to replace Lollapalooza with a weekend of live streamed music from July 30-Aug. 2. More details will be announced next month. 

The Air and Water Show is typically held at North Avenue Beach and is one of Chicago’s largest free-admission events. It was scheduled to take place Aug. 15-16. 

Along with Lollapalooza, the Air and Water Show and Taste of Chicago the city has also cancelled the Chicago Jazz Festival, Chicago SummerDance and the majority of events hosted along the Chicago Riverwalk, Chicago Cultural Center, and Millennium Park.

More information about citywide events and online programs can be found on Chicago’s website.