Though not yet declared a health crisis of international concern, by January of 2020, COVID-19 was already clearing out dance floors in Wuhan, while simultaneously sinking its spikes in cities in Vietnam, Singapore the US and Europe. By the end of March, around 51% of events globally listed on Resident Advisor were cancelled, postponed or rescheduled. Late spring and early summer brought a gradual return in listings as promoters, artists and collectives experimented with pandemic-conscious configurations for online and outdoor spaces, and some governments, like that in Germany, provided grants and financial aid for organisers to adapt their parties to "the new normal."

South Korea, Switzerland and others cautiously allowed indoor clubs to reopen with hygiene frameworks in place, but ended up having to roll back these decisions due to increasing infection rates. Illegal raves happened regularly in some countries, especially during the summer months. These events drew a swift backlash for risking the health and safety of their communities.

June's uprising, which took action against anti-Black racism through global protests and digital activism that continues to this day, also incited an industry-wide reckoning in electronic music, bringing years-long conversations about predominantly white festival lineups, incessant racism experienced by touring Black artists and DJs and the lack of diversity in key curatorial and decision-making positions again to the fore.

It's safe to say 2020 has permanently changed the ways in which we gather and experience music communally, but the full scope of this evolution is yet to be seen. As a means of reflecting on what the hell has transpired so far, here's a timeline of our key event stories from this past year.

The opening of QT, UR, EA at Berlin’s Trauma Bar by Kitty Lee Schumacher.

January

Jan 17th QT, UR, EA opening in Berlin

Jan 23rd SKALAR Live in Amsterdam

February

Feb 3rd The Last Cocktail D'Amore At Griessmuehle

Feb 5th dweller 2020 in New York

Feb 7th Strom Festival 2020 at Berliner Philharmonie

Feb 8th Timedance Five Years in Bristol

Feb 8th ARMA²⁰²⁰ in Moscow

Feb 13th Coronavirus rolling news coverage begins

Feb 18th Coronavirus scare forces mass cancellation of festivals and parties across Asia

March

March 6th T4T LUV NRG in Glasgow

March 6th Pitch Music & Arts 2020: Five Key Performances

March 11th Jessy Lanza and Loraine James in London

March 13th The Coronavirus And Electronic Music: Perspectives From The Scene

Eris Drew and Octo Octa at The Berkeley Suite in Glasgow by Tiu Makkonen.

April

April 1st Perspectives From The Scene: Carin Abdulá of OUTER Agency

April 24th Cautious optimism in China as nightlife resumes after lockdown

April 24th Key South Korean venues reopen this weekend after coronavirus-related closures

April 30th Club Matryoshka: The Virtual Nightclub That Predates Coronavirus

May

May 9th Seoul shutters nightclubs after spike in coronavirus infections

May 13th Independent UK festivals on brink of 'collapse' from coronavirus pandemic

May 21st The Chengdu Nightclub Reviving Sichuan's Shut-Down Scene

June

June 23rd Will The Pandemic Spark A Return To Local Lineups?

June 30th Switzerland orders 300 Zurich clubgoers to quarantine after one tests positive for coronavirus

June 30th Perth nightclubs reopen with minimal social distancing measures

In June, Nyshka Chandran wrote about how the pandemic was sparking a return to local lineups in East Asia

July

July 9th How countries plan to restart nightclubs and music festivals

July 16th Muqata'a at Refraction Festival

July 20th 3,000 people flout COVID-19 guidelines to attend illegal rave near Bath

August

August 17th Spain, Italy shut clubs and venues again as COVID-19 cases rise

Aug 21 Cancelling Ibiza summer could cost up to 4,000 nightclub jobs

Aug 22nd Else Open Air in Berlin

August 27th Review: Big Dyke Energy in London

September

Sep 3rd Review: Dancehall Supremacy

Sep 11th Beirut's Club Scene After The Blast

Sep 15th Berlin's events sector edges back as Covid-19 cases rise around Germany

The damage to AHM caused by the 2020 Beirut port explosion by Tamara Saade.

October

Oct 1st Unsound 2020 Talk: Black Techno Futures: Local And Global Perspectives

Oct 9th Primavera Sound organizes trial concert in Barcelona to evaluate accuracy of rapid-result Covid-19 tests

Oct 2nd Review: techno-club.net's First Transmission

November

Nov 20th How The Pandemic Pushed Terraforma To The Next Level

December

December 10th Ten Key Performances: Nyege Nyege Festival 2020

Dec 14th NTIA warns of 5,000 illegal parties in the UK on NYE

Dec 21st US Congress has agreed on a Covid-19 relief bill that includes billions in aid for small music venues