Coronavirus: music festivals, big gigs, sports events and big gatherings - going ahead and cancelled

[beesonthewhatnow]

And so we roll into 2021...

Tour Down Under 2021 cancelled due to coronavirus concerns

The first WorldTour event of next year has been called off as the global pandemic rumbles on

www.cyclingweekly.com

 

[editor]

Hopeful stuff:


Camden Winter Beer Hall is a new socially distanced craft beer and street food festival launching after lockdown 2.0

Camden Winter Beer Hall is here to give you something to look forward to after lockdown with its socially distanced beer festival packed with independent UK craft ales, Bavarian street food, live brass bands and party DJs. Launching on Friday 4th December at Camden’s Electric Ballroom and running until February 2021, sessions are available for groups of four, five and six people for just £15 per person from camdenwinterbeerhall.com. Should the current lockdown be extended then tickets for affected shows will be switched to a date of your choice from the remaining 3 month schedule.

For this carefully curated event, the Electric Ballroom in the heart of Camden will be fully transformed into an escapist beer hall with festive snowy decor and warming winter atmospheres that provide a safe haven from the weather for fulsome food and drinking sessions. For your safety and comfort, there will be sessions each Friday and Saturday evening from 5:30pm - 10pm and a Saturday afternoon session from midday to 4:30pm. Bookings will be limited to 6 people per group and from the same household.

Each session will come with its own cheery soundtrack from live ‘drum and brass’ crew No Limit Street Band who will play a mix of party covers, dance music brass renditions and festive hits to get the good times flowing. DJ collectives such as Club De Fromage will also lineup up throughout the season to get your feet tapping and heads bopping.

This boutique event aims to support UK indie brewers in these difficult times so there will be five of the very best serving up a selection of their finest craft ales for your delectation. Expect pale ales, milk stouts and sour fruit beers while hot mulled wine and ciders will also be available to warm you to your core.

To go with the delicious drops will be some awesome eats from Brat Bros, who are specialists in a range of gourmet Bratwurst, Weisswurst, Veganwurst and fries. You can also look forward to freshly baked pretzels with sweet mustard sauce, churros with a selection of sweet sauces including peanut and chocolate and much more besides.

These cosy sessions are designed to offer you a little solace this winter and are sure to sell out, so get your group booked in now. Groups of four, five and six people can book for just £15 per person from camdenwinterbeerhall.com.

Should the current lockdown be extended then tickets for affected shows will be switched to a date of your choice from the remaining 3 month schedule.

 

[spitfire]

IFE is so big they only hold it every 2 years so quite a big deal.

IFE | 17-19 March 2025

IFE sits at the heart of the food & drink community, welcoming retailers, wholesalers & foodservice professionals to source products across the 3 day event.

www.ife.co.uk

Dear Mr Fire,

I hope you are keeping well.

After careful consideration, it is with deep sadness that we have decided to cancel the upcoming edition of IFE and IFE Manufacturing Solutions 2021 due to the ongoing global uncertainty with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

IFE and IFE Manufacturing Solutions 2021 will now take place 28th February – 2nd March, 2022 at ExCel London. Even though we had introduced the ‘All Secure Standard’, a risk-assessment based framework for Covid-19, and planned for the highest standards of hygiene and cleanliness, ultimately the lack of guidance and clarity from government on when business events can restart has meant that we have had to take the painful decision to postpone IFE and IFE Manufacturing Solutions until 2022.

We are devastated that we will not be able to play our part next year in helping the food, drink and hospitality industry recover from the catastrophic consequences of the pandemic in a face to face format. However, we are currently investigating numerous ways in which we can continue to support and connect you with the food, drink and hospitality industry throughout 2021 and beyond, and hope to make an announcement around this in the coming weeks.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

2021 really isn’t going to be the restart everyone hoped for, is it?

 

[spitfire]

2021 really isn’t going to be the restart everyone hoped for, is it?

Doesn't look like it. Certainly for the mega events.

 

[Sunray]

2021 really isn’t going to be the restart everyone hoped for, is it?

Someone needs to ring all the festivals and tell them 2021 is cancelled.
There are some gigs for late next year (november) I want to happen but I didn't book because its just a merry go around.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Someone needs to ring all the festivals and tell them 2021 is cancelled.
There are some gigs for late next year (november) I want to happen but I didn't book because its just a merry go around.

I’ve got tickets for a theatre show (Penn & Teller) in June. I’m not exactly hopeful.

 

[Sunray]

I’ve got tickets for a theatre show (Penn & Teller) in June. I’m not exactly hopeful.

cool I’d go to that, would be great.
On topic this

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Billy Bragg one of the first I've seen to start moving (already cancelled once) 2021 dates into 2022.

 

[miss direct]

New years eve will be even shitter than usual.

 

[Looby]

Someone needs to ring all the festivals and tell them 2021 is cancelled.
There are some gigs for late next year (november) I want to happen but I didn't book because its just a merry go around.

I’ve just booked a weekender for November to give me something to look forward to. I’m guessing the two gigs I’ve got rebooked for spring will be moved/cancelled. Fuck knows if any summer festivals will happen but I am hopeful for EOTR in September, that might just go ahead.

 

[Sunray]

I don't think you're alone in this thought.

 

[Badgers]

View attachment 238034

Billy Bragg one of the first I've seen to start moving (already cancelled once) 2021 dates into 2022.

shite

As mentioned before (possibly in this thread) a lot of spring/summer 'not music' events are being cancelled/postponed in spring/summer 2021. I get the feeling that pushing events/gigs back to 2022 at least lets the venues, organsiers, public/trade, contractors and others plan rather than just hope...

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

shite

As mentioned before (possibly in this thread) a lot of spring/summer 'not music' events are being cancelled/postponed in spring/summer 2021. I get the feeling that pushing events/gigs back to 2022 at least lets the venues, organsiers, public/trade, contractors and others plan rather than just hope...

We have lots of events booked in at the uni from late Jan, but every single one has been designed as a “hybrid” model, with built in plans to roll back to entirely online if required.

 

[Badgers]

We have lots of events booked in at the uni from late Jan, but every single one has been designed as a “hybrid” model, with built in plans to roll back to entirely online if required.

Have been in lot of webinars about online events and most people don't consider them a replacement for live events. I want events to return but selling tickets for an event that might go online is hardly the same experience is it?

 

[Cloo]

2021 really isn’t going to be the restart everyone hoped for, is it?

No - but I think people will be planning for more of some of the sorts of outdoor, distanced events trialled this year so there should be more opportunities. They'll be pricey though, and I don't put good odds on us having a super dry spring and summer two years in a row

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Have been in lot of webinars about online events and most people don't consider them a replacement for live events. I want events to return but selling tickets for an event that might go online is hardly the same experience is it?

These are all very much of the academic variety, with a few medical ones too. I guess “conference” more than “event”, papers being presented etc, so will work either way, hopefully.

 

[Badgers]

These are all very much of the academic variety, with a few medical ones too. I guess “conference” more than “event”, papers being presented etc, so will work either way, hopefully.

You are right.

I am talking more about exhibitions, gigs, festivals and such.

We did some trials and were getting about 5% engagement compared to a live audience.

 

[Pickman's model]

And so we roll into 2021...

Tour Down Under 2021 cancelled due to coronavirus concerns

The first WorldTour event of next year has been called off as the global pandemic rumbles on

www.cyclingweekly.com

then we'll trundle into twenty-two

 

[2hats]

then we'll trundle into twenty-two

I don't expect to go to a festival again until 2022.

 

[Badgers]

Just to add the companies I spoke to about 'virtual' events wanted tens of thousands to set up and deliver.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

You are right.

I am talking more about exhibitions, gigs, festivals and such.

We did some trials and were getting about 5% engagement compared to a live audience.

Yeah, we’ve played with various platforms for exhibition type events and they all without exception suck balls.

Concerts we need to find a solution to as live performance is part of the music students assessed degree work. We’ve got kit now to do HD multi camera streaming with high quality audio, so hopefully that will do for those. We could do paid gigs with the same tech but it’s a case of having to be realistic about what punters are prepared to pay.

Just to add the companies I spoke to about 'virtual' events wanted tens of thousands to set up and deliver.

What sort of events? I have access to a nice virtual conference platform developed in house here at the uni if you want a quote

 

[Cloo]

These are all very much of the academic variety, with a few medical ones too. I guess “conference” more than “event”, papers being presented etc, so will work either way, hopefully.

I don't think my organisation is planning on any domestic in-person events next year. They're touting their next big international conference in Middle East in Jan 2022, but they have had some in-person events in China already

 

[klang]

View attachment 238034

Billy Bragg one of the first I've seen to start moving (already cancelled once) 2021 dates into 2022.

just about lucky, Aus and NZ.

 

[Badgers]

What sort of events? I have access to a nice virtual conference platform developed in house here at the uni if you want a quote

Would be interested

PM on way

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

2021 Tour de Yorkshire has just cancelled.

 

[editor]

Sigh.

Brixton’s Windmill music venue in ‘imminent danger of permanent closure’ say the Music Venue Trust

The Music Venue Trust (MVT) charity have been in touch with Brixton Buzz to warn that the iconic Windmill venue in Brixton has been listed as one of thirty UK venues marked as being in ‘immin…

www.brixtonbuzz.com

 

[editor]

The misery never fucking ends

UK music industry will halve in size due to Covid, says report

Growth of 11% in 2019 predicted to reverse this year with collapse of live sector

www.theguardian.com

 

[William of Walworth]

I initially posted this into the Boomtown thread on the festivals subforum, because the discussion there was becoming quite general.

But I think the festival-relevant part of vaccine discussions is better off to chat about on this thread -- here we go.
(TLDR?? : Some fests may happen next year IMO )

====================================================================================================
My cautious!!! level of optimism concerning next year's events is not just based on vaccines -- although those could/should be hugely important obviously.

I've been following some details about the Oxford/AstraZeneca one for instance, and unlike the recent announcements , they're being sensibly very cautious so far in Oxford, before they announce much -- further delay on revealing their prelimary stats in today's news, for instance.

They will, though, be able to supply much larger quantities for the UK than the US ones. Also cheaper, and more easily refridgerated

As well, there are many other ways, beyond vaccines, of applying safety measures for festivals and similar events.

For example, temperature checks on entry for everyone attending -- maybe beyond entry point as well.

And if there are properly quick/reliable Covid tests actually available by summer, events can insist on people taking them both ahead of the event (and requiring people to show proof of negative when they arrive) and upon entry.

Plus all the obvious hygiene measures -- possible even at festivals!
(I suppose the distancing thing is the awkward 'bit' mind -- see above though!)

Reducing size if events in quite a big way, is something I'd be amazed doesn't happen, Glastonbury and Boomtown very much included.

I actually agree with Sunray , Badgers , bees etc. about a lot of the pessimism, but I'm not sure +YET+ that any of you, or others, are allowing enough for the possibility of better -- even quicker -- developments overall than expected.

I keep kicking myself to stop being over-optimistic, often failing , but the emergence of various vaccine news is making that hard

Maybe it MAY be that people are forgetting**, with vaccines, that the amount of capital(ism ) and concentrated effort going into not just the research but also logistics and supply chains, is fucking huge!

**And even the possibility (?? ) that people are slightly underestimating our utterly incompetent Government's determination to get the population vaccinated, and failure levels there may end up being somewhere under 95%

 

[Badgers]

I feel like am constantly pissing on your positivity WoW don't want to but having been in the industry so long I speak to people and venues and such.

Also am working quite closely with organisations who have a 'lot' to lose. For me and you missing a preferred festival is a lot to lose but by comparison to some of the companies in the event/festival sector it is a small part of their businesses. Spoke to the UKs biggest event supplier yesterday and they have laid off 75% of their staff.

Spoke to the Institute of Export last week about the vaccines. They said it was almost impossible that Brexit would slow the shipment into this country, but they understand the first roll out will take a few months from approval to completion. That is more with the local logistics and planning/prioritising.

So it is not a magic wand to sort this and reopen live events sadly

Without further being a misery to all...

Festival's are not this government's priority. They will focus more on sports and theatre first. Then make festival organisers and councils jump through endless expensive hoops just to get a licence. Then there is a risk of a spike/wave for the organiser and staff to worry about.

It is fucking shit.