After facing a major shut down from the COVID 19 pandemic globally, the United Kingdom proved that the music entertainment sector can re open and function normally while abiding to the regulations. This was after Virgin Money Unity Arena in Newcastle, England hosted the very first out doors socially distanced concert.
Virgin Money Unity welcomed 2,500 music fans for a performance by rising rocker Sam Fender. "The arena is designed to keep you safe, with organized parking and a socially distanced queuing system into the arena where you will be directed to your personal area," SSD Concerts wrote on Facebook. The parent company also unveiled a concept illustration at the time, showing a stage facing a large open lawn, with numerous raised platforms containing room for small groups to watch the show.
There were about 500 stations on the arena with spaces of 3 metres apart. Each station could accommodate up to a number of five people. The angle of the stations were also taken into account as the stations nearer to the stage laid flat while those a bit far away were raised a little higher to ensure that everyone had a view of the stage.
Additional safety precautions included hand-sanitizer stations placed throughout the area and staggered entry times to assure groups would not assemble prior to entering the location. Attendees were also able to pre-order drinks via the venue’s website, eliminating the need to line up for concessions.
What does this mean for Eswatini?
Eswatini's music artists are also suffering from the consequences of the pandemic. With the restrictions of the shows and the lack of knowledge of diversification to other sources of income through their talents, a number of artists have lost hope and are alternating to other means of making money. However, it is good news after the Virgin Money Group shared it model with the rest of the world for other event organizers to implement.
This being the case, Mountain Inn Eswatini announced to host a socially distance indoor concert featuring Eswatini's number one jazz and Afro pop singer, Sandz. Of course the concert is to be hosted taking into account the regulations to try and minimize the spread of the virus.
However, it is key to note that this is not good news for all artists in Eswatini, especially the upcoming artists. At least the professional and established artists will have a great advantage in the hosting of such concerts. Events organizers will spend more before, during and after the happening of the events. This means that the events have to make more than what organizers are going to loose and therefore the only way they are going to do that is through featuring an influential professional artist to attract the crowd.
It will be a challenge to host outdoor concert shows compared to the indoor concerts. The behaviors and cultures of people in the United Kingdom and those in Eswatini are not the same and occasionally, Emaswati are too wild and difficult to control in outdoor events especially when there are narcotics involved. This is why even if there is a glow in the other end of the tunnel, it is still too early and risky to introduce the United Kingdom way of partying.
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