1. Get In Touch With Local Authorities
First things first, make sure that you will be allowed to organise your event and consult local public health officials. They will help you define the appropriate amount of people you can host in your venue to avoid overcrowding.
2. Look for the Right Venue & Adapt It
Prefer outdoor venues to indoor spaces: ventilation is extremely important, that’s why if you are choosing an indoor venue, make sure it operates properly. Open windows and doors, prioritize outdoor sittings if possible.
Another tip is to choose a larger venue than usual for a reduced amount of people and to block the access to some rows. This will ensure social distancing.
Make sure that your guests don’t stand too close from one another while queuing and provide signs like tape or chalk marks on the ground. You can also reduce the queue by selling your tickets in advance and restricting the entrance to ticket-holders.
Finally, offering an online attendance option is a good idea to get more viewers, especially since surveys reported that many concert goers now feel more reluctant to attend indoor concerts than outdoor events.
In Germany, some venues like Kiezsalon have limited the amount of time spent indoors by reducing the duration of each set to 30 minutes. Additionally, they have reduced the attendee capacity to 80 people. The bar has been set up outside and no drinks can be sold inside.
3. Look After Your Staff
Make sure that the venue and event staff are safe and know how to keep other people safe. Encourage them to stay at home if they’re sick and provide them with supplies that will help prevent the spread of germs.
Implement preventive measures with your staff like washing hands, avoiding close contact, etc. and make sure that they wear masks or cloth face coverings while moving within the venue.
Of course, the venue should be cleaned and disinfected regularly before, during and after the event: this applies to door handles, cash registers, tables, payment terminals, etc.
4. Protect Your Audience & the Artists
While playing on stage, the artists will not be wearing a mask, that is why you should protect your audience by securing a marking on the ground around the stage. Make sure that all guests are wearing masks or cloth face coverings (see more details here).
You can also ask the bands to bring their own microphones if several bands are playing. Make sure to disinfect the stage between each performance.
Set up sanitizer stations in the venue and check your guests’ temperature at the gates to minimize risks.
Finally, establish contact tracing of the attendees in case one of them reports having coronavirus.
- Our friends at Impulse festival and Distune Promotion hosted their first social distant gig, check out how it looked like!
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides you with more detailed information on how to make your venue corona-proof.
- Hypebot gives you a few tips on how to adapt your gig to the coronavirus new normal.
- Follow Eventbrite’s safety playbook for detailed information on health and safety considerations when organising events.
- gigmit gives you more inspiration on where and how to set up a social distancing gig.
Returning To music In A Safe Environment
The 2500-seat Virgin Money Unity Area in Newcastle, UK has seen high ticket sales since opening last week. The venue differs from traditional live music events by being completely socially distant. The COVID-19-safe live music arena offers space for 500 viewing platforms at a distance of two meters. Guests arrive by car or bike and have access to their own personal dance / viewing platform, including table, chairs and personal refridgerator.
After Wuhan’s 76-day lockdown was lifted in April, the city hosted the HOHA Water Electrical Musical Festival on the 15th of August, which was packed out with thousands of people. The major music festival is part of an attempt to boost the economy while being one of the latest introductions of festival formats since indoor shows were resticted due to the global pandemic. Attendees did not have to wear face masks nor did they keep social distance.
