The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the peace of the planet. Tourism, aviation, hospitality, the concert and entertainment industry and all related branches have suffered the most due to the restrictions on physical and social distance imposed by the authorities. The closed borders have left thousands of planes on the ground so far. For months, millions of people were isolated in their homes, had travel restrictions, were monitored and directed to perform the most basic daily activities.
Due to the contagiousness of the new coronavirus, local, regional and national authorities in dozens of countries have imposed restrictive measures on shows, concerts and theaters. Cinemas, stadiums and performance halls were closed.
After more than a year of restrictions and a favorable evolution of vaccination campaigns, several countries have started to organize outdoor shows and concerts to check the risk of infection with the new coronavirus. The aim is to monitor contagion in the current context, when a large part of the population is immunized and participation in events is done by observing special measures.
Tens of thousands of people participated in shows and concerts
As the rest of the world isolates itself, New Zealand is having fun! More than 50.000 people have gathered for a rock concert in Auckland, New Zealand, a country that lacks social distancing requirements after virtually eliminating harshly restricted COVID-19.
The band Six60 sang for 50 people from all over the country, and Saturday's concert, which took place in Auckland's largest stadium, was considered the largest concert in the world since the pandemic began.
"We know what it's like to be imprisoned. It was terrible. I didn't know if we would be able to play at concerts again. ", said soloist Matiu Walters before the show. "But we are lucky, for some reason, here in New Zealand. It was amazing to see how excited people were, happy to be outdoors and listen to live music. ”, said guitarist Ji Fraser. "It was special."
More than 50.000 people gathered for a rock concert in New Zealand.
Not everyone was happy with the show that took place at the big rugby stadium, Eden Park, where concerts were normally forbidden. Prime Minister Helen Clark said the performances at the stadium were an "invasion" of privacy due to noise.
78.113 fans gathered in a stadium in Australia for a football match.
It's not just rock fans who have gathered over the weekend. On Sunday, 78.113 fans gathered in an Australian stadium for a football match with Australian rules. The match, between Collingwood Magpies and Essendon Bombers, took place at Melbourne Cricket Ground, a stadium with a capacity of 100.000 seats. It was the largest stadium event in the world since the pandemic began.
The same match, last year, was played in an empty stadium. On Sunday, the game took place on Anzac Day. It ended in a 109-85 victory for Essendon.
On 19 April 2021, New Zealand and Australia open long-awaited "Covid-safe travel bubble" (quarantine-free travel agreement), after both countries managed to eliminate the spread of coronavirus. Qantas and its subsidiary Jetstar consider this reopening to be a major asset for the relaunch of Australian aviation and tourism. "The reopening of these flights over Tasman is a very important step in the recovery of aviation and tourism.", said Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.
Another concert, with 5000 people, took place in Barcelona.
On March 27, 2021, approximately 5.000 fans of the Spanish indie band Love of Lesbian attended a concert held at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona. Although they had to wear masks, social distance was not necessary. All participants were tested beforehand and could only participate those who received negative results in the PCR tests performed.
"It simply came to our notice then. We felt safe at all times. We went first and realized that fun and freedom was something we missed a lot. ”, said one of the participants after the show. "We are very proud to have had the chance to participate in this. We hope he will be the first of many. "
Two weeks after the event, all those present were retested, and the result is negative. According to the Spanish authorities, there are no confirmed with COVID-19 among the 5000 people who participated in this show
Dozens of Israelis attended a live open-air concert.
The live concert of Israeli singer Nurit Galron took place in Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv, Israel, on February 24, 2021. It was an event that could set a precedent in a world that wanted to return to normal - a musical concert attended by dozens of Israelis vaccinated against COVID-19.
The open-air concert in Tel Aviv was one of the first concerts in a program to resume cultural events by restricting participation. Only people who have been vaccinated or immunized after contracting the disease will be allowed to attend these events.
Participants were required to show a "Green Pass", a government-validated certificate stating that they had received both doses of vaccine more than a week before the event or that they had recovered from COVID-19 infection, and thus being immunized. Permits are valid for six months from the time of complete vaccination or from the time of immunization.
According to the authorities in those countries, there was no fluctuation in new cases as a result of these events. Those present were / are monitored for two weeks, then retested. These pilot shows can help relaunch the concert industry around the world.