Attendees will gather for a concert by the band Love of Lesbian at the Sant Jordi Stadium in Barcelona on March 27.
Photographer: Angel Garcia / Bloomberg
Photographer: Angel Garcia / Bloomberg
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As the musicians play the first chords on their electric guitars, the singer takes the stage, picks up the microphone and shouts, “All the strangers were at the concert, from the great mind reader of Dublin.”
At his feet, 5,000 electrified fans sing, jump and dance at the indie pop hit. It could be any Saturday night concert in 2019, if not for the masks, disinfectant taste and tickets that prove a negative test of Covid-19.
“Don’t take off your masks because the success of live music in Europe and the world depends on tonight’s concert,” singer Santi Balmes says between songs. Before the music started, the giant screens showed videos of doctors encouraging people to follow the rules.
The audience, staff and band, Love of Lesbian, are part of a massive experiment that, according to organizers, is the biggest concert without socially distancing itself from the coronavirus era. Saturday’s event in Barcelona offers an insight into what mass gatherings can be like long after the pandemic has disappeared.
“If we can show that you can bring 5,000 people together through quick tests, we will open the door to do many more things,” said Gemma Recoder, one of the organizers and director of the Canet Rock festival. “It’s a key step not only for live music, but for everything else, from conferences to sporting events.”
To enter, you could not show up at the Sant Jordi stadium a few minutes before the start and get a ticket at the door. Fans had to download an app, enter their contact details and book an hour for a quick Covid rehearsal on the day of the concert.
People who tested negative got a code to access the building, while those who tested positive received a refund. Inside, masks were mandatory and the audience was divided into three zones for about 1,600 people.
Health workers take samples from attendees before the concert.
Photographer: Angel Garcia / Bloomberg
The event was organized by the organizers of some of the largest music festivals in Spain, such as Sonar, Primavera Sound and Cruilla Barcelona Festival, in collaboration with regional health authorities, doctors and epidemiologists of the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital in the nearby city of Badalona.
It follows a pilot concert in December in Barcelona that brought together 500 people. Preparations for the second phase took months, Recoder said, and included the following advice on health protocols and the renovation of the stadium’s ventilation equipment.
“The air you breathe now has the same quality as the open air,” said Jordi Herreruela, organizer and director of the Cruilla Barcelona Festival. “Doctors tell us it may be safer to be at the concert than walking down the street because we’ve created a health bubble in which we know everyone is tested.”
Attendees ’data has been referenced with data from public health authorities, so if anyone gives a positive during the two weeks following the concert, organizers will know.
Statistically, approximately 10% of people present could become infected during this time. But if this percentage becomes unusually high, organizers and authorities will contact concert attendees and take steps to contain the spread of the virus.
Lesbian love is realized with 5,000 attendees.
Photographer: Angel Garcia / Bloomberg
The event had no benefit, but the organizers did hope that faster, cheaper, faster testing will make mass live music possible in the near future, providing a lifeline to one of the sectors hardest hit by blockchains.
Recoder says the concert halls were the first to close and will probably be among the last to open. Festivals such as Sonar, which brought together more than 100,000 people in Barcelona in 2019, or Primavera Sound, which attracted 63,000, were not held in 2020 and will not be held this year yet.
“The effects of this pandemic on live music have been devastating,” Recoder said. “That’s why we’re as nervous as if this was the first gig of our lives, and in a way, it is.”