The first Panorama took place in the summer of 2016 and was met with some controversy. Founder's Entertainment, the creators behind Governors Ball Music Festival, petitioned the city of New York and Mayor Bill de Blasio to have the dates of Panorama changed. Founder's Entertainment's major concern was that Panorama's ticket sales would cut into their own festival's. De Blasio obliged and the festival was moved to 7 weeks after Governors Ball, rather than the original 2 weeks, to avoid compromised ticket sales.[1]
The Lab, sponsored by Hewlett-Packard, is the festival's art component.
Exclusively featuring NYC artists, The Lab seeks to focus on experiential arts with an interactive space exhibition and a 360 virtual reality theater.[5]