Leadership / 12.15.21

Up to 40% of Fans Not Showing Up to U.K. Gigs Due to COVID: 'It's Decimating the Whole Industry'

Access Staff

NME.com (12/13/12) Richards, Will

Experts warn that up to 40% of U.K. music fans are not attending live events because of spiking COVID cases, while last week Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new national restrictions, dubbed Plan B, amid rising cases of the omicron variant. Artist manager Graeme Stewart called these mass no-shows "an enormous problem" that is "happening for anything that's ticketed." Sacha Lord, nighttime economy adviser for Greater Manchester and Parklife Festival director, said even "really hot, sold-out shows" are seeing high numbers of non-attendance "every single night." He continued, "It's decimating the whole industry." Face masks are now mandatory in cinemas and theaters, while COVID passes will be in force for concerts and nightclubs starting Dec. 15. "It's now the proportionate and responsible thing to move to Plan B in England, while continuing to work closely with our colleagues in the devolved administrations so we can slow the spread of the virus," declared Johnson in his address. Organizations across the live music industry are highly critical of these measures. "The introduction of Plan B results in an unfair double standard that allows people to go on all-day pub crawls in crowded bars without having to prove their COVID-19 status, whilst live music venues get hit with certification," said Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment CEO Greg Parmley.

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Tags: News , Leadership , COVID-19 , Coronavirus