The music and lantern festival faced backlash when it was announced in July 2019…

Rise Festival, the famed music and lantern festival from Las Vegas, will now take place next year.

Originally announced to make its Dubai debut on Friday November 8, the date was then updated to December. However, the latest email sent to those who pre-registered now advises that the festival will take place at the beginning of 2020.

“RiSE is a large production and we are meticulous about getting every little detail perfect so that your experience is as magical as possible. This additional planning has required us to find a new window in a very busy events calendar in Dubai,” the email read.

While the new date was not given, it’s expected to be announced “in the coming weeks” according to the email.

Organisers added that they were working “closely with a number of government and non-government partners to finalise all of the event details”.

Although the original location was given as Al Qudra, we don’t know if the change of date also means a change of location.

When the festival was announced in July 2019, it faced heavy backlash from UAE residents for it’s safety and environmental impact. In addressing this, festival organisers said that they have a “leave it better than we found it” policy, adding that all of the lanterns are 100 per cent biodegradable. “After the event our cleaning crews recover all of the lanterns from the surrounding desert as well as any pre-existing litter in the area, leaving the desert cleaner than it was when we arrived,” a statement on their official website reads.

The one-day music and lantern festival is described as a family-friendly event, and at the time of announcement promised a line-up of exciting artists as well as the stunning lantern release for which it’s become famous for.

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