Photo by Maxime Bhm on Unsplash
The landscape for festivals and events this year is looking promising with many big festivals such as Boomtown, Parklike and Reading already sold out. But with 2020’s festival season decimated by the pandemic, is Boris Johnson’s roadmap too good to be true?
The government’s plans to ease lockdown restrictions said limits on social contact will be lifted in England from 21 June at the earliest. If this timeline remains intact, festivals could go ahead this summer.
However, the roadmap remains dependent on the vaccine rollout running smoothly, reduced hospital admissions and low infection rates.
So, with all this uncertainty what are those who work within the industry saying?
Thanos Mamo, who works as an industry supplier to events and festivals shed some insight on the topic.
“It’s been a dead period, only doing barrier work on COVID centres throughout winter. But after the 8th of March people started enquiring more and more. Since then, we’ve had almost the same number of enquiries as we would in normal times,” he told me.
He adds: “Demand for outdoor events has gone through the roof and we’ve sold out on picnic benches, gazebos, beer tables, etc. It’s mostly people whose livelihoods depend on events to make money".
On its website, festival El Dorado said: “They foresee a land where the words lockdown, furlough and social distancing are unrecognisable”.
Whilst other festivals like Boomtown have been tweeting their excitement.
An optimism Thanos has found reflected in bookings, with clients who seem disinterested in their COVID cancellation policy and are “certain events will go ahead”.
Ella Greening* a student union events coordinator shares this excitement.
She told me: “Unlike last summer we have more hope that the vaccinations will mean we have more certainty when planning. We didn't take any future bookings last year, whereas this year we have things booked to happen from 21st June”.
She added: “Even if restrictions are still in place, we have access to more testing to run a controlled event with less risk”.
Photo by Krists Luhaers on Unsplash
But despite the optimism among many events and festival planners, not all share the same attitude. One client, for example, told Thanos: “They don’t expect to see work for the next couple of years”.
Jade Lapsley, a healthcare assistant shared this concern. She said: "I think large gatherings in the summer are a bit optimistic. I don't think they're a good idea as events usually involve alcohol etc. and this means people won't be thinking straight and socially distancing".
A situation that could be problematic, with uncertainty surrounding how long the vaccine protects you or whether it prevents you from fully passing it on to others.
However, with this small glimpse of freedom now looming over young people, cancelling festivals at this point could be challenging and preventing people from holding their own gatherings could be difficult.
At this point, only time will tell if festivals are able to go ahead or not. But for the sake of us vitamin D deprived music lovers let's just hope they do!
By Emily Latimer