JUNE | COVER FEATURE
food safely outside your vehicle, and you
can order from our app before the event to
minimise contact. We’ll also be checking
people’s licence plates instead of tickets at
the gate, for hygiene reasons.”
Crofton says they will not have a bar on
site, but there will be public toilets. These
will operate a 2m queueing system like the
one currently being used by supermarkets,
and will be cleaned after every use. Crofton
says that reassuring visitors about hygiene
and cleanliness will be a key measure of
success for socially distanced events.
Some suppliers have also pivoted to
providing hygiene products for events.
Visions Group recently announced a new
range of hand sanitiser and temperature
stations, which are available for sale or
hire. They’re even brandable, says CEO
Chris Norman: “Digital signage sanitiser
stations will be a perfect promotional
product for companies looking to enhance
their marketing message at events. The
advertising reach will be huge as visitors
will be looking for an antibacterial solution
to help to keep clean and protect against
Covid-19.”
Contact tracing and events
In some parts of the world, events are
returning without the need for social
distancing. South Korea’s contact tracing
scheme has been so successful that new
daily cases of the virus are down to single
figures, and many clubs and venues have
opened their doors – at least for now (see
Agenda, p6).
The UK is currently trialling a contact
tracing app on the Isle of Wight. The main
barrier to the success of any such tech in
the UK is takeup – epidemiologists say
60% of any given population would need
to use it for the app to be effective. On the
Isle of Wight, which has a population of
around 140,000, the app has reportedly been
downloaded 60,000 times. The question
remains – would you surrender some level
of your privacy, if it meant reopening the
economy?
Technology is providing a solution for
socially distanced events in other corners
of the events industry, too. Brussels Expo,
“STAGING A DISTANCED EVENT WILL REQUIRE STARTING FROM
SCRATCH, WITH A UNIQUE IDEA THAT CAN BE EXECUTED SAFELY”
Belgium’s largest exhibition venue, plans to
use UV-C technology to disinfect delegates
as they enter. Brussels Expo CEO Denis
Delforge said the installation of the lamps
would ensure the restart of events takes
place under “optimal sanitary conditions.”
So far the festival industry has been
hesitant in approaching the idea of socially
distanced events. I suspect timing is a factor,
with the virus hitting after many organisers
had finished planning, but before they
started building. The festivals and outdoor
events we are used to are not compatible
with social distancing, as AFO’s Steve Heap
says on p20. Staging a distanced event will
require starting from scratch, with a unique
idea that can be executed safely.
Boomtown’s Creative Director Lak
Mitchell (see overleaf, p27) says he and his
team are using the downtime to focus
on the main festival in 2021. “Boomtown
has grown at such a rapid speed that we
needed a chance to re-examine the company
model,” he says. “We’ve got so many
wonderful things at Boomtown, but we can’t
do everything.” Mitchell does hint at some
form of drive-in event coming to Area 404,
Boomtown’s venue in Bristol, but says he
can’t share any details at this stage.
I asked Crofton why he thinks more
organisers haven’t dipped their toes into
the water with distanced events. “I think
there is a nervousness around the industry.
Government guidelines aren’t complete in
our world yet, so everyone is still finding
their feet. But I do think there is potential
for socially distanced events.”
@TheDriveIn certainly seems to be living
up to its potential so far. Crofton says the
event has received almost 60,000 signups in
a week, and Mainstage is considering how
it can add new dates already. Some event
venues, with nothing else in the diary, have
even come to them in the hopes of receiving
some much-needed income.
Crofton is keen to highlight that if @
Snowboxx
Alan Crofton
Festival Director at
Mainstage Festivals
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