Frank Ocean has loomed large over Coachella 2023, despite only spending about an hour playing at it. After injuring his leg in the week leading up to Weekend 1, Ocean’s bizarre behavior overshadowed the festival’s first weekend. He was late to his own set, only performed for an hour, and didn’t even livestream what little he did perform.
Then came the shocking announcement that just days before the second weekend was due to kick off, Ocean had pulled out. In response, Coachella has been forced to shell out millions to replace his Sunday night performance. Furthermore, they have been left with the dilemma of what to do with the giant ice rink they had built for his set. Due to liability issues, they were unable to open it as a public rink. Instead, Coachella’s organizers hoped that they would be able to incorporate it into another performer’s set. However, as Coachella 2023 reaches its final day, this doesn’t appear to be the case.
Leaked Photos Show Scrapped Rink
According to TMZ, Coachella has chosen to scrap the rink rather than repurpose it. Sources informed the outlet that the 100 skaters hired for the set had been informed Thursday that they would not be performing during Weekend 2. Instead, they would receive payment for rehearsals and their Weekend 1 performance. There is no word of where the ice rink is currently. However, it has likely been moved off-site for a more private dismantling. Coachella has not officially commented on the rink.
TMZ also obtained footage of the ice rink during rehearsals. According to sources, security was incredibly tight as Ocean wanted the ice as pristine as possible for his performance. This may be due to the unverified rumor that the ice would reveal an image of Ocean hidden beneath the surface. This may also explain why Coachella ultimately chose to scrap the prop entirely. It wouldn’t make sense for, say, GloRilla to showcase Ocean’s face. Ocean was replaced by blink-182 as well as a new closing act from Skrillex, Four Tet, and Fred again… Coachella’s final day begins at 12pm PDT, with sets from Eric Sanchez and Minus the Light. Other major performers on the final day include GloRilla, WILLOW, Latto, and Noname.
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