Music festival trial gives us fresh hope
The cafes and restaurants are open, but you can’t have a drink or listen to background music.
The pubs are open if they have a beer garden or a street licence, but it is a start.
I had a meeting in Bianco Nero in the morning followed by a meal with my family in Glasgow in the afternoon.
I felt as if I had not sat down to eat talk to someone for years.
I sensed a change in the atmosphere and some of the frustration over the last year that concerned me over covid restrictions starting to lift.
It has been hard for the hospitality sector, particularly for music venues, and who knows what the fallout will be when the dust settles.
It’ll be a while to find out what the venues’ hopes and expectations for returning this summer are after taking a year off due to coronavirus.
Working at a reduced capacity, buying and setting up extra chairs and tables for outside, buying screens, providing PPE and using more staff all make it very difficult to operate and make money.
But we are all in it together and only a few music venues have had to shut their doors.
Much of the success in the survival of music venues in the UK is due to the good folk at the Music Venues Alliance (MVA), who have worked tirelessly for their members acting as a voice for the future of music in Britain.
I’m sure when the alliance was set up, they didn’t think their job was going to be as crucial as it has turned out. I expect that their role before last year was mainly to help promote grassroots music and not become experts in science, law and politics.
The MVA is working with English venues at the moment, asking them to respond to a survey they have sent out.
This survey provides the essential information that will inform MVT’s work in the next five months to support those venues with tools, promotion, bookings and financial support to Revive Live.
Revive Live is a promotion that is intended to kickstart the music programmes in all the venues to give them a boost. Where venues are struggling, they will help them out to find out what is going wrong and get the on track.
On the live gig front, Barcelona has celebrated a successful non-socially distanced Covid-19 show in front of 5,000 people.
It was a bit arduous as the gig goers arrived at the early time of 8am to get tested. This process lasted till 4pm in the afternoon. The attendees were tested by 200 medical professionals. When all the testing process finished, the concert opened its doors at 5pm.
Of the 5,000 music fans, only six tested positive and were unable to attend. To gain access the show, fans had to show both their ticket and negative test using an app that was created for the occasion.
Once they were granted access, they were handed a medical-grade FPP2 mask that they had to wear at any time inside the venue.
All those who attended the gig underwent PCR tests two weeks after the event and it was reported there was “no sign that suggests transmission took place during the event”.
This gives me great hope that things are getting back to normal.
Meanwhile, support your local music venue by buying a ticket for one of their upcoming shows.