Wu explains the rationale behind Boston Calling pause

On Monday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu provided further context for Boston Calling’s 2026 gap year.

The annual music festival’s organizers revealed on Friday that Boston Calling will take a brief hiatus in 2026 before returning the following weekend in 2027. The organizers have not provided any further explanation for why the festival would not take place the following year.

Wu stated that the reasons for the festival’s pause are unrelated to city laws or issues with the event itself when questioned about the move on Monday by WBZ NewsRadio.

They had contacted me to let me know that there will be a lot of demand on hotel rooms, events, and sponsorships next year due to the 250th anniversary celebrations and FIFA’s arrival, Wu told the station. Therefore, considering everything that is going on in Boston during that same time frame, it would be wiser to avoid having conflicting or overly extended sponsorships and to handle it well so that we can enjoy the Boston Calling event even more when it returns.

For the first time since the festival’s relocation to the Harvard Athletic Complex in 2017, Boston Calling will not take place during Memorial Day weekend, according to organizers. It will return on June 4-6, 2027. In 2013, the music festival made its debut on the Plaza of City Hall.

When the event returns, Boston will welcome it back, Wu said. She told WBZ that despite the other significant events, the city would have managed to make it work in 2026.

The more events, in my opinion, the better, she told the broadcaster. However, I don’t have to worry about locating sponsorships to pay for them. We are concerned about how to allow and oversee public safety. Therefore, we’ll always manage to make it work. Anyone who wishes to create a party that unites people and energizes our community is invited. However, I completely accept and understand the organizers’ decision to concentrate on what is presently happening and then concentrate on this for the following year because there is so much going on at such a wide scale.