Perhaps this should come as no surprise to those of us who work in the Live Events business and think of ourselves as being smarter in our career choices than others: those who regularly go to music concerts in the UK have a double-vaccination rate 25% higher than that of the general population, according to a new study.
The results come from a series of surveys carried out by the Music Venues Trust. MVT polled almost 1,900 people during the first full month of the full capacity reopening of grassroots music venues since England’s so-called July 19 ‘freedom day’.
The survey found that 76.3% of those attending gigs were double-vaccinated, compared to 61.3% for the general population. The survey also revealed that 91.3% of attendees had chosen to take additional precautions to ensure their safety such as double vaccination, testing to immunity – or a combination of these.
5,000 people in a stadium. No social distancing.
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) March 28, 2021
Barcelona has tested a concert format they hope could be a first step towards mass entertainment in the pandemic era. @LauraMillanL explains https://t.co/TgQTvepmHe pic.twitter.com/XPumny6qo9
The DAIMANI Journal covered the extraordinary story in May this year of Catalan indie band Love of Lesbian playing to 5,000 fans in the Palau Sant Jordi. Fans still had to wear masks but for the first time there was no social distancing requirement.
A full month after Love of Lesbian’s concert public health officials reported ‘no sign’ of higher levels of infection among people who took part in the concert: Six people tested positive for Covid-19 within 14 days of attending the gig, but the incidence was lower than that seen in the general population.
Interestingly only two per cent of the fans interviewed wanted to see a double vaccination certificate as the sole and mandatory condition for entry. Those interviewed said they would like to see a mix of options including vaccination, testing and immunity.
Mark Davyd, the CEO of the MVT told Music Week: ‘The response from venues, artists and audiences to the COVID threat has been incredible.
‘These survey results clearly demonstrate a will by the live music community to create safe spaces, to take personal responsibility for ourselves and each other, and to act to Reopen Every Venue Safely.
‘It is particularly striking that local case and transmission rates around grassroots music venues, far from exponentially increasing as was predicted, have, in reality, exceeded the decline in rates witnessed nationally.’
