JFL42 postpones comedy festival until 2021 due to coronavirus

In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, JFL42, the largest annual comedy festival in Toronto, has been postponed until late 2021.

The highly anticipated nine-day festival was initially set to run between Sept. 24 and Oct. 3, 2020, however, in an attempt to help mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, Just for Laughs decided it was best to hold off on the comedy celebration until next fall, as confirmed on Wednesday via the official JFL42 website.

“We are sad to announce that we’ve come to the difficult realization that all live and in-person performances for Toronto’s JFL42 Festival cannot be held in 2020 due to COVID-19 travel and large gathering restrictions,” the news release reads.

2020 was set to mark the ninth consecutive year of JFL42 and feature an abundance of soon-to-be announced world-renowned comedians performing all around Ontario’s capital. Among them is The Daily Show host Trevor Noah, who was set to put on a stand-up show on Oct. 3.

The Just for Laughs-owned festival will now take place between Sept, 23 and Oct. 3, 2021, as revealed in the organization’s statement.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Among those dates, Noah’s upcoming comedy special, Sorry, Not Sorry — which is set to be recorded — is now scheduled for Oct. 2, 2021.

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.

7:22 Coronavirus: The show must go on? How the entertainment industry is dealing with the pandemic

In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.

—