Pollstar (12/13/21) Gottfried, Gideon

The live event industry in Europe has been marked by inconsistency this year, with some countries faring better than others due to either high vaccination rates or coronavirus vaccination passports that encouraged allowances for high-capacity events. Good examples from mainland Europe include Switzerland, which hosted successful summer events with healthy capacities for audiences that could provide negative test, recovery or full vaccination. Poland leveraged existing restrictions to the maximum degree when top promoter Alter Art held reduced-capacity concerts running under its Open'er festival brand. Both successful and less successful countries must now confront the omicron variant: as of Nov. 24, some of Germany's 16 states imposed 50% capacity limits and mask mandates for visitors, who also had to show proof of vaccination and negative test results. Operating venues with reduced capacities is not economically viable, however, and all major tours scheduled for the end of 2021 in Germany have been rescheduled to 2022. In England, promoters and managers across the board are seeing a slower-than-usual uptake of ticket purchases in older fan demographics. "For sure there is a market-by-market approach to reopening, but we're used to this new world now, as with many other parts of our lives we've adapted to the challenges," said Live Nation EMEA's John Reid. "Dealing with the changing landscape has just become part of doing business."

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