The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is shutting down 11 days ahead of its March 22 finale amid growing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.

The Rodeo released a statement via its official Instagram page on March 11: “In the interest of public health, the City of Houston and the Houston Health Department have ordered the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ to close. The Rodeo will respectfully and dutifully comply with the City’s order, and the grounds will close at 4 p.m. The Rodeo is deeply saddened; however, the safety and well-being of our guests and our community is our top priority. Out of precaution, the City has decided that this is the best course of action for our community. A ticket refund process is still in the works and will be communicated once it is finalized. For more information regarding this announcement, click the link in our bio

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner declared a health emergency for Houston, which impacts the Rodeo and a number of other events in the city.

Scheduled to run from March 3 to March 22—yes, 20 days—Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is one of the largest rodeo and livestock exhibitions in the world. Rodeo Houston features a carnival, a bar-b-que contest, 10K race and some of the best live entertainment in the country. The event pulled in more than 2.5 million attendees during last year’s festivities and more than 1.3 million showed up just for the concerts.

Country music dominates the week’s lineup at NRG Stadium, and this year was no exception. Midland, Willie Nelson, Maren Morris and Chris Young have already performed. A number of country artists were scheduled to perform in the coming days, including Kane Brown, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan and more.

Cancelled Dates: 2019 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Lineup
March 11 – Kane Brown
March 12 – Cody Johnson
March 13 – Lizzo
March 14 – Jon Pardi
March 15 – Dierks Bentley
March 16 – Keith Urban
March 17 – Gwen Stefani
March 18 – Khalid
March 19 – Chris Stapleton
March 20 – Marshmello
March 21 – Brad Paisley
March 22 – Luke Bryan