Music festival cancelled after El Niño-linked hurricane erodes beach

Ocean Way is not the first festival to be affected by climate change. A music festival in the US has been cancelled after a hurricane eroded the beach where it was due to be held. The two-day Ocean Way Festival was scheduled for later this month in Santa Monica, California. But 4.5 metre-high waves and storm runoff have left the beach near Los Angeles badly degraded, forcing local officials to cancel the event. "Storm surf generated by Hurricane Marie and runoff from a storm drain outfall eroded a large portion of the festival site," said a statement from the city of Santa Monica. The Killers, Olivia Dean and Jack White were due to play at the inaugural Ocean Way Festival, which was promoted by Coachella organisers Goldenvoice. Hurricane Marie, spurred by the ‘Super’ El Niño weather pattern resulting from warming waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, severely damaged coastal areas from Malibu to Long Beach and Dana Point. ‘The surf took the beach’ The storm, which churned the waters of the Pacific over the last week, stripped sand off the beach meaning that it wouldn’t be safe to hold the festival there, the city said. "The surf took the beach we planned this on, and we cannot put tens of thousands of festival-goers on that sand until it's safe," said Mayor Caroline Torosis. The coastal city of Santa Monica - the official end point of Route 66 - has a wide stretch of golden sand and a large wooden pier that features frequently in American television shows and films. News of the festival cancellation came days after the pounding surf opened a massive sinkhole on the driveway of a beachfront home belonging to Oscar-winning US actor Nicolas Cage. Officials in Malibu, which sits just north of Santa Monica, have ordered the evacuation of 31 homes because of the danger posed by the hole. Further south, at least seven homes in Dana Point were declared uninhabitable after the coast on which they sit rapidly eroded, with one house collapsing into the sea. A similar problem has occurred in nearby Laguna Beach. El Niño blamed for worse storms The waters of the Pacific Ocean have been unsettled in recent weeks by a series of tropical storms, with some of them developing into hurricanes. Scientists say a near-record strength El Niño is warming the ocean's waters and creating extra volatility. While the phenomenon is part of a natural cycle, human-caused climate change is thought to be super-charging the heating and exacerbating its effects. Ocean Way is not the first festival to be affected by climate change. Bonnaroo, in Tennessee in the US, announced last month that the festival would take 2027 off to repair the grounds, after heavy storms canceled sets and prompted evacuations this year. Stagecoach, the country music festival on the same site as Coachella, also temporarily shut down this year due to strong winds.