JANUARY | FEATURE
“ There really needs to be some debate on this and a standard and central government body to make this possible in the most anonymous way possible . It ’ s a tricky subject and one we are watching with interest ,” he says .
Meanwhile , Realife Tech ’ s Goodyer says his company is involved in “ very detailed ” conversations with event operators , ticketing companies and testing operators with the aim of using its technology to help enable pre-event Covid-19 testing .
While unable to say who the relevant parties are , he says the process being discussed involves tests being carried out 48-hours before an event by a testing provider . Realife ’ s technology is integrated with that of the testing provider and the ticketing provider , it encrypts the data and acts as a link between the two systems .
He says , “ It acts as the gatekeeper between the output of the test and access to the digital ticket , and we are able to do that by encryption – so neither we or the ticketing company is taking personal health information .”
“ If the result is negative , access to the ticketing API [ Application Programming Interface ] is provided . If the result is positive than an alternative journey is created and detailed information as to what the user needs to do is provided .”
Goodyer says the focus is currently on testing and not on dealing with vaccine data processing : “ That is secondary at present , but the feeling is that we would use the same process of verification . The health records of the individual would be held by the vaccine provider , but we would act as the link in the chain , encrypt information and then link it to the digital ticket .”
“ The whole process has to be joined up . Right across the journey there needs to be systems in place that operate seamlessly together , otherwise it can start to unravel .”
Festicket , which has evolved from a festival discovery website into an endto-end festival experience provider , goes well beyond the supply of digital tickets . A key step in the operation ’ s evolution was the acquisition of ticketing and cashless payment platform Event Genius and its consumer-facing brand Ticket Arena .
In line with Covid-19 event guidance , Festicket ’ s egPay service offers cashless and contactless solutions including self-service top-up stations and a mobile top-up option enabling customers to manage their wristband / RFID cashless funds autonomously , in so doing reducing contact points between fans and staff . It also provides contactless payments with offline processing .
Among the functionality within its egTicketing platform is a track and trace option enabling event organisers to request details of all attendees before tickets are validated . It also provides a timed entry ticketing solution .
“ We sell the tickets and enable access but also provide contactless technology and cashless payments – the whole process is Covid ready ,” says chief supply officer , Reshad Hossenally .
He says Festicket is working with event partners on rapid testing solutions and how they can be connected to the company ’ s ticketing platform .
“ The tests are now very accurate , and the cost and results turnaround time
Reshad Hossenally Rob Wilmshurst Adam Goodyer Paul Newman
“ It acts as the gatekeeper between the output of the test and access to the digital ticket , and we are able to do that by encryption – so neither we or the ticketing company is taking personal health information .”
are coming down ,” says Hossenally . “ You can ’ t book your festival or start planning a festival now if you don ’ t have a solution or process in place that you know that you can fall back on , otherwise you are committing blind .”
He says the vaccines will not be widely available to the younger age groups who make up the majority of festival attendees for some time , and with that in mind rapid testing is the priority : “ I think everyone has accepted that while there is a vaccine , it ’ ll be going to the vulnerable and elderly first so we need a solution in place in order for events and festivals to happen next summer .
“ We are working hand-in-hand with partners so that we have the ability to scan the health passports that people are creating , and we have the ability to provide the booking system as well for people to come to the test centres .”
He says the Festicket team is working closely with festival promoters and venues , along with testing company partners , to try to create pilot events where attendees are tested prior to admittance .
“ There is no such thing as a fool proof system that can ensure that not one single person at an event ever has Covid ,” he says . “ That ’ s not what the pre-event testing initiatives are about , they are about trying to reduce the impact of Covid-19 so that we can get events back up and running safely .”
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