Will the 2021 festival go ahead?

[stuartbert two hats]

Just now, eFestivals said:

Same reason there wasn't a significant amount of covid in the population last summer.

We didn't lift restrictions last summer to the point where festivals might be feasible.

To be clear, I'm not predicting the hospitals will fill up with young people, because I'm not predicting restrictions will be lifted to the point where a festival like Glastonbury could go ahead.

[eFestivals]

11 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

We didn't lift restrictions last summer to the point where festivals might be feasible.

That's a different conversation to what I disputed above.

But it's also a very different scenario this summer to last summer, so they're not really comparible. The vaccine gives an exit from restrictions and that exit is likely before everyone is vaccinated.

 

Quote

To be clear, I'm not predicting the hospitals will fill up with young people, because I'm not predicting restrictions will be lifted to the point where a festival like Glastonbury could go ahead.

They will be lifted somewhen.

June is maybe too early but not by very much, I think.

Going forwards covid is going to be endemic same as flu. We might as well get on with that as soon as hospital demand comes down.

Edited January 12, 2021 by eFestivals

[Tartan_Glasto]

I'd be very surprised if schools were back before the Easter break and if many restrictions were lifted before then. By that point Glastonbury will have had to have made a decision. To me it's a definite no to this year going ahead.

Positives though, they've all but said existing tickets will roll over to 2022 so for those that have tickets you will be getting a Glastonbury, it'll just take a bit longer. 

[eFestivals]

10 minutes ago, Tartan_Glasto said:

I'd be very surprised if schools were back before the Easter break and if many restrictions were lifted before then. By that point Glastonbury will have had to have made a decision. To me it's a definite no to this year going ahead.

I suspect you're right.

I'm still pretty hopeful that the situation could be good enough in June that the festival could go ahead, but I think it will cancel because it needs certainty by around March time.

[Kusy]

If the world will end the covid crisis and it will mean that fest will be back in 2022 - I'll take it. 

End the deaths, bring back music. 

I'll wait if I must. 

[Gilgamesh69]

What do we think the chances of other UK festivals happening this year are though? How about Bluedot? Or Green Man?

[steviewevie]

12 minutes ago, Gilgamesh69 said:

What do we think the chances of other UK festivals happening this year are though? How about Bluedot? Or Green Man?

Later in the year, the bigger the chance....but I don't think either will happen. Maybe one day festivals have got a chance.

[tullux]

I am afraid it wont happen. Because this festival is so international. People from all over the world come to this event. And so there is sadly the posibility that different types of mutation could be brought by foreign fans. 
Also the different kinds of vaccination in every country wont make it easier to control...

[squirrelarmy]

Just now, tullux said:

I am afraid it wont happen. Because this festival is so international. People from all over the world come to this event. And so there is sadly the posibility that different types of mutation could be brought by foreign fans. 
Also the different kinds of vaccination in every country wont make it easier to control...

The festival having a large international audience doesn’t mean it is dependent on overseas visitors to go ahead. If this years festival going ahead means no international ticket holders being allowed to attend then they would easily fill the remaining capacity with UK residents. 
 

It would however be a huge shame if those unable to travel can’t enjoy the festival. 
 

Some other festivals such as Sziget in Budapest do depend on international travellers. Almost everyone I spoke to out there was either from Australia. NZ or Ireland. Also a huge Dutch contingent and not that many locals. I did talk to a few locals and they complained that it was an expensive festival to go to compared to other festivals in their country. 

[FestivalJamie]

18 minutes ago, squirrelarmy said:

The festival having a large international audience doesn’t mean it is dependent on overseas visitors to go ahead. If this years festival going ahead means no international ticket holders being allowed to attend then they would easily fill the remaining capacity with UK residents. 
 

It would however be a huge shame if those unable to travel can’t enjoy the festival. 
 

Some other festivals such as Sziget in Budapest do depend on international travellers. Almost everyone I spoke to out there was either from Australia. NZ or Ireland. Also a huge Dutch contingent and not that many locals. I did talk to a few locals and they complained that it was an expensive festival to go to compared to other festivals in their country. 

Glastonbury has more chance of going ahead than sziget. And sziget falls 2 months later.

Nonetheless I unfortunately think the chance of either is slim.

[squirrelarmy]

1 minute ago, FestivalJamie said:

Glastonbury has more chance of going ahead than sziget. And sziget falls 2 months later.

Nonetheless I unfortunately think the chance of either is slim.

Sziget doesn’t have much of a chance although one of it’s neighbouring festivals that shares some of the infrastructure is planning to go ahead as normal. That other local one is a vastly different festival though which uses permanent arenas. 

[tullux]

Cant believe that they close out foreign ticketholders. That would be an very ugly move.

[squirrelarmy]

15 minutes ago, tullux said:

Cant believe that they close out foreign ticketholders. That would be an very ugly move.

If international travel is restricted but festivals are allowed to go ahead then they would have no other choice. 
 

GFL wouldn’t stop international ticket holders from attending, they would only be unable to attend if international travel is stopped. They wouldn’t stop people already in the country from attending. 

[Andy0808 v5]

As stated earlier/elsewhere, IF it goes ahead (which I think Is unlikely), they’ll offer people the option to defer to 2022. Would be a good way to cull the attendance numbers too.

[eFestivals]

1 hour ago, tullux said:

I am afraid it wont happen. Because this festival is so international. People from all over the world come to this event. And so there is sadly the posibility that different types of mutation could be brought by foreign fans. 

This is just wrong.

Forrins are either allowed into the UK or they're not.

Whether they're here for a festival or something different matters not a jot. Any risk is their presence in the country not where exactly in the country they are.

Edited January 12, 2021 by eFestivals

[tullux]

Ok, i understand. The festival could happen besides the borders are closed. Had no clue that this possibility exist.

sorry for my bad english...

[Suprefan]

This is a current state of the industry when it comes to fests and finances. Glasto mentioned but of course can be applied to plenty of events. The “theyre too expensive” line is gone. Repost where its needed in other threads if need be. And a mention of a certain possible future Glasto  headliner too.

 

https://m.hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=324677&title=NEAR-TRUTHS%3A-FROM-HERE-TO-'22

 

“A STEEP CLIMB TO DAYLIGHT: Despite the hope that was nurtured last year, 2021 is going to be a rough ride for the live sector.

With terrible COVID surges and a slower-than-expected rollout of vaccines, the concert business will have to proceed with baby steps for the time being. At best, most insiders feel, touring will make a gradual return, enough to begin the process of recovery from the 2020 shutdown but not sufficient to offset it.

Artists, managers, agents, promoters, attorneys and others involved in the process are nonetheless committed to doing everything possible to get things in motion and save the business. The belief is that while 2021 will offer only marginal gains, it will set the stage—so to speak—for a phenomenal return in 2022. Indeed, the feeling among key players is that the summer of ’22 could be the biggest in the history of touring, as pent-up demand can finally be met. Visualize one sold-out stadium show after another, with post-pandemic confidence and thirst for communal celebration driving a brand-new boom.

TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT: But in order to get there, it is widely agreed, everyone is going to have to take a haircut. There will be some money, but not boffo money. Terms will be less favorable and guarantees less lavish. For now, the task is to join forces to get acts on the road and earning again, wherever it’s feasible and reasonably safe to do so.

Guarantees are said to have been lowered across the board at certain high-profile festivals, such as Coachella, Lollapalooza and Glastonbury, while some smaller ones that depend more on headliners have been more flexible. It’s understood that promoters (who’ve lost untold millions during the shutdown) cannot assume all risk in this uncertain climate.

That said, with priority for headlining slots in 2021 going largely to performers whose planned 2020 festival appearances were cancelled, a huge backlog has formed. The acts seeking the few available festival slots, and those that have confirmed the move to the same slot in 2021, are therefore subject to such less-than-friendly terms as reduced guarantees and even attempts to claim monetary penalties if certain conditions are not met, broadcast rights not granted or higher-than-usual merch splits not agreed to. But all participants are being urged to move ahead nonetheless, to get things rolling.

We’re told by agency sources that Michael Rapino’s Live Nation, Jay Marciano’s AEG and the other top promoters are still sorting out their contracts with reps from CAA, WME, Paradigm, UTA and other agencies. Indie promoters and events are said to have begun circulating theirs. We understand the latter typically include what some artist reps consider very lopsided terms, which are nonetheless vital to covering the losses of the last year and will help to offset some of the risks of the coming year.

Another strategy, currently being floated by Lollaplaooza, for one, is a 25% cut to guarantees across the board, with bonuses if certain attendance numbers are met. If an act—no matter how big—declines the terms or the offer, they say they’ll move on.

It's certainly now a promoters’ market, given the mad competition for slots in an uncertain world. Promoters lost a mountain of money last year and don’t yet know when the various territories they tour will fully reopen. Given the uncertainties of 2021, some of these promoters are trying to share some risk with the acts.

NEXT STEPS: Artists who were poised for their first-ever arena tours when COVID struck may face some challenging decisions. After this long a delay, does it make sense to try to resume those long-postponed arena dates, or is it more advisable to return to sheds until business really heats up again?

For other artists, though, it would seem the shutdown has only heightened anticipation. Dua Lipa is widely considered to be the preeminent pop act in this regard, and biz watchers think her next tour is likely to be a blockbuster.”

Edited January 12, 2021 by Suprefan

[stuartbert two hats]

I'll say this, 2022 is going to be absolutely amazing.

Edited January 12, 2021 by stuartbert two hats

[kalifire]

5 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

I'll say this, 2022 is going to be absolutely amazing.

Too right. If it really is the next one, I feel for anyone without a ticket.

[rivalschools.price]

9 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

I'll say this, 2022 is going to be absolutely amazing.

You sound like 2020 me talking about 2021, haha.

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

1 minute ago, kalifire said:

Too right. If it really is the next one, I feel for anyone without a ticket.

I think I'll have to leave the country the week of and the week after the festival, to somewhere with no coverage. I hear Ascension Island is nice in June...

[Crazyfool01]

    

[stuartbert two hats]

5 minutes ago, rivalschools.price said:

You sound like 2020 me talking about 2021, haha.

I was never completely convinced about this year. I mean, if you'd asked me in July, I'd have said it was probably happening, but 2022 is definitely, definitely on. And almost as important, things should be normal by then.

[Zoo Music Girl]

11 minutes ago, Supernintendo Chalmers said:

I think I'll have to leave the country the week of and the week after the festival, to somewhere with no coverage. I hear Ascension Island is nice in June...

I might have to join you!

I did actually go away the weekend of the only one I've missed since I started going and it did definitely help.

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

Just now, Zoo Music Girl said:

I might have to join you!

I did actually go away the weekend of the only one I've missed since I started going and it did definitely help.

Ascension Fest it is! That's two of us...anyone else?