Music Festivals given go ahead from late May...

[xxialac]

9 minutes ago, bennyhana22 said:

I'm becoming a broken record, but there will be no restrictions or no festival.

Testing - utterly impossible to test 60000 people on entry to a music festival. To an airport? Maybe - but it will take days. A festival? Nope.

Evidence of negative testing. The logistics of all 60000 being able to get a certified test and demonstrate certification, and have that checked at the gate? Nope.

Ditto vaccination status - many of the festivals already saying they're on will be before much of the core demographic will have had the chance to be vaccinated.

I may yet be proved wrong, but just think about what it currently takes to get everyone into Glastonbury with a photo-ID ticket. Now multiply that by, what?, a lateral flow test for all 200 000 on site? No restrictions or no festival. We need to get, at least internally, like New Zealand, for them to happen. The one major difference to pre-'rona for this year might be the impact on people coming to the festivals from overseas. Which will be a shame. Love a random chat with a non-Brit!

Ben

60,000 people have the logistics of evidence of not carry in anything they shouldn't (frisking) and evidence of having a valid ticket.

Why is evidence of a certified test on top so impossible?

It's just a code on a phone.

[eFestivals]

10 minutes ago, bennyhana22 said:

Testing - utterly impossible to test 60000 people on entry to a music festival. To an airport? Maybe - but it will take days. A festival? Nope.

it's not, as tests would be able to be done a day or two before - same as it works for lorry drivers going to France. The govt have already talked about it for 90,000 people footie matches.

[Memory Man]

Tests are an issue because you’re relying on someone who had tested positive to not show up & try to blag their way in & infect people in a que

vaccine passports less so but both would surely be on a mobile device to be scanned in this day & age

but the risks by june with most having had at least 1 dose should be low

Edited February 26, 2021 by Memory Man

[Homer]

3 minutes ago, bennyhana22 said:

After all of this, who is gonna baulk at traveling to a weekend of partying???!

Ben

My mates apparently. How I managed to get everyone to Nos Alive in Portugal back in the day is beyond me!

[xxialac]

The one thing I am struggling with is how they will know that the test has been taken by the person in question.

The problem is we don't have ID cards in this country and I can't imagine they will insist people bring their passport.

Any ideas?

[bennyhana22]

7 minutes ago, xxialac said:

60,000 people have the logistics of evidence of not carry in anything they shouldn't (frisking) and evidence of having a valid ticket.

Why is evidence of a certified test on top so impossible?

It's just a code on a phone.

 

7 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

it's not, as tests would be able to be done a day or two before - same as it works for lorry drivers going to France. The govt have already talked about it for 90,000 people footie matches.

I know, guys. And for a one off large event, you can see that happening. But, for example, do you think a season ticket holder for a Premier League club will need to get evidence of a new, negative test every 10 days?

I just think the implementation will become impossible. People will start to get fake QR codes etc. It forces you to have a smartphone capable of running that app, people will cry foul if their test appointment is cancelled, false positive tests - another £150 for your repeat, please...

Just not do-able, for me...not on a regular mass scale purely in order to allow social activity...

Ben

[xxialac]

3 minutes ago, bennyhana22 said:

 

I know, guys. And for a one off large event, you can see that happening. But, for example, do you think a season ticket holder for a Premier League club will need to get evidence of a new, negative test every 10 days?

I just think the implementation will become impossible. People will start to get fake QR codes etc. It forces you to have a smartphone capable of running that app, people will cry foul if their test appointment is cancelled, false positive tests - another £150 for your repeat, please...

Just not do-able, for me...not on a regular mass scale purely in order to allow social activity...

Ben

I think by the Summer the laws of supply and demand will mean that a test will be a tenner at Boots - max £20 - on a walk-in basis and no big deal

And yes if you want to go to an event every ten days you have to pop in before.

Certainly risk of fraud seems high I agree. 

[eFestivals]

10 minutes ago, xxialac said:

The one thing I am struggling with is how they will know that the test has been taken by the person in question.

The problem is we don't have ID cards in this country and I can't imagine they will insist people bring their passport.

Any ideas?

it'll be integrated into the NHS app, which stops it being switchable to another person after the result.

If you send someone else to take the test, they might test positive same as you. And you'd have to find someone to take the test. So while it could be faked it'd be a faff to do it.

[zahidf]

Also, it's about minimising the risk, not to stop ANY positive people going to the festival 

[eFestivals]

Just now, zahidf said:

Also, it's about minimising the risk, not to stop ANY positive people going to the festival 

yup. No one is claiming it'd be a perfect system, but in a vaccinated world it should be workable enough.

[xxialac]

4 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

it'll be integrated into the NHS app, which stops it being switchable to another person after the result.

If you send someone else to take the test, they might test positive same as you. And you'd have to find someone to take the test. So while it could be faked it'd be a faff to do it.

Good thoughts.

Though people have travelled all the way to Glastonbury from the other part of the country without a ticket so I'm sure there'll be some people desperate enough to try and get their mates to take it for them. People also have been found to take driving tests for others which has an equally serious consequence.

I'm envisaging a scenario when some selfish SOB tests positive and then just borrows his mates phone to get in. By Summer his mate is very unlikely to have tested positive if they haven't been in recent contact.

Edited February 26, 2021 by xxialac

[zahidf]

1 minute ago, xxialac said:

Good thoughts.

Though people have travelled all the way to Glastonbury from the other part of the country without a ticket so I'm sure there'll be some people desperate enough to try and get their mates to take it for them. People also have been found to take driving tests for others which has an equally serious consequence.

I'm envisaging a scenario when some selfish SOB tests positive and then just borrows his mates phone to get in. By Summer his mate is very unlikely to have tested positive if they haven't been in recent contact.

People who would go to that much trouble will be at a minimum. And one positive person doing that in a post vax world isn't relevant anyway.

[bennyhana22]

3 minutes ago, xxialac said:

Good thoughts.

Though people have travelled all the way to Glastonbury from the other part of the country without a ticket so I'm sure there'll be some people desperate enough to try and get their mates to take it for them. People also have been found to take driving tests for others which has an equally serious consequence.

I'm envisaging a scenario when some selfish SOB tests positive and then just borrows his mates phone to get in. By Summer his mate is very unlikely to have tested positive if they haven't been in recent contact.

Exactly. Or screenshot of a QR code? The guys on the gates want to get people through. They ain't gonna scrutinise something like a screenshot cf. genuine page on the app!

Ben

[eFestivals]

1 minute ago, xxialac said:

Good thoughts.

Though people have travelled all the way to Glastonbury from the other part of the country without a ticket so I'm sure there'll be some people desperate enough to try and get their mates to take it for them. People also have been found to take driving tests for others which has an equally serious consequence.

I'm envisaging a scenario when some selfish SOB tests positive and just borrow's his mates phone. By Summer his mate is very unlikely to have tested positive if they haven't been in recent contact.

yeah, there's lots of different possibilities.

But at the end of the day most people will be respectful towards a testing system for access, and even with honest testing it's quite possible that people will catch covid the day after their test.

Testing will be about reducing risks, not removing them entirely.

[xxialac]

1 minute ago, zahidf said:

People who would go to that much trouble will be at a minimum. And one positive person doing that in a post vax world isn't relevant anyway.

No way would it just be one person. It's such an easy scam to pull off. Also maybe your mate has already taken a test for an event he's just been to.

You simply have to borrow their phone or get their QR code which some untrained person on the gate looks at for 3 seconds.

Plus June 21 is not a post vax world.

[Zoo Music Girl]

51 minutes ago, Homer said:

So what happens if a test still costs the same as it did last summer (£100-odd wasn't it?). This is why I'm def not booking a foreign hol any time soon!

I would imagine they will only go this route if tests come down a lot in price as @xxialac says. I'd be happier paying that price for a long haul holiday as there are already so many expenses associated (visa, jabs, etc) but not for a trip to Europe where your tests in and out would likely cost more than the flights.

Blue Dot is ace by the way. Only been once and loved it. We had northern relatives we went with though so made the transport side of things a lot easier. Probably a coach from London somewhere though? I really like the look of the line-up based on last year's headliners, who I think are sticking, but it's a bit early in the season for me to want to commit. And definitely for my other half who loves festivals but not to the same degree I do and is more wary of restrictions easing.

Am starting to worry we will miss the boat on a summer festival as these sell out though. End of the Road was an option but that's gone! 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Zoo Music Girl

[eFestivals]

4 minutes ago, xxialac said:

No way would it just be one person. It's such an easy scam to pull off. Also maybe your mate has already taken a test for an event he's just been to.

You simply have to borrow their phone or get their QR code which some untrained person on the gate looks at for 3 seconds.

Plus June 21 is not a post vax world.

don't forget that covid infection rates would be low in the general public in circumstances where the festival happened, so the chance of a positive test would be very low, and then not everyone would ignore the test.

So you're probably talking just one or two *extra* people with covid due to faking a test.

[xxialac]

Just now, eFestivals said:

don't forget that covid infection rates would be low in the general public in circumstances where the festival happened, so the chance of a positive test would be very low, and then not everyone would ignore the test.

So you're probably talking just one or two *extra* people with covid due to faking a test.

You're right on the low rates (I really hope so at least!).

On similar note one of the problems with the trial I foresee is that they will be doing it at a time when rates will be higher i.e. the results will overstate the risks. 

[eFestivals]

3 minutes ago, Zoo Music Girl said:

Am starting to worry we will miss the boat on a summer festival as these sell out though. End of the Road was an option but that's gone! 

loads of festies have sold out in the last few days, including ones you've never heard of. I wouldn't be slow in getting the tickets you want.

Don't forget, most of these festivals have already sold a large number of tickets (the rollovers from last year) so the tickets they do have are already very limited.

I'm expecting some one-off big shows to be announced in around a month, so hopefully there'll be some decent stuff available to see away from normal festies.

[Losing my hair]

12 minutes ago, xxialac said:

No way would it just be one person. It's such an easy scam to pull off. Also maybe your mate has already taken a test for an event he's just been to.

You simply have to borrow their phone or get their QR code which some untrained person on the gate looks at for 3 seconds.

Plus June 21 is not a post vax world.

So you've no idea what the logistics of the testing would be but you know it would be an easy scam to pull off???

[TheFullShaboo]

1 minute ago, eFestivals said:

loads of festies have sold out in the last few days, including ones you've never heard of. I wouldn't be slow in getting the tickets you want.

Don't forget, most of these festivals have already sold a large number of tickets (the rollovers from last year) so the tickets they do have are already very limited.

I'm expecting some one-off big shows to be announced in around a month, so hopefully there'll be some decent stuff available to see away from normal festies.

I have tickets for Boomtown, Lost Village and Beat-herder with just 1 still having any tickets on sale (Beat-herder and they're expecting to sell out today)

I knew there'd be a flurry of demand following the announcement, but not quite at this level. Absolutely fantastic to see and hopefully it means a few festivals can generate a bit of money this year to keep them going!

[Zoo Music Girl]

14 minutes ago, xxialac said:

No way would it just be one person. It's such an easy scam to pull off. Also maybe your mate has already taken a test for an event he's just been to.

You simply have to borrow their phone or get their QR code which some untrained person on the gate looks at for 3 seconds.

Plus June 21 is not a post vax world.

Presumably it would have your name on it too though? So they could ask for another form of ID? Plenty of venues do this kind of thing to stop touting.

I don't know if I think that many people would fake it. If case numbers are right down in summer as expected, would you need to? Might be easier just to take your chances and be as careful as you can in the weeks preceding (difficult if commuting for work but you could cut down on socialising, shopping etc for a week or two).

[Lycra]

38 minutes ago, xxialac said:

60,000 people have the logistics of evidence of not carry in anything they shouldn't (frisking) and evidence of having a valid ticket.

Why is evidence of a certified test on top so impossible?

It's just a code on a phone.

The debate surrounding prior testing or lateral flow tests at the gate will run but it's a major headache for promoters. This piece below is taken from a report this morning on the BBC news site on nightclubs:

But Luke Laws, operations director at London nightclub Fabric, says that doing lateral flow testing on the door would be a logistical nightmare.

He calculates that if a full capacity crowd - Fabric can hold 2,000 punters - had to wait in a socially distanced queue outside the club, the line would stretch 1.7 miles from the club in Farringdon all the way to Covent Garden.

And then there is actually doing the test if, by the time clubs reopen, it is a requirement for entry. Where will clubbers wait for the results? Who will administer it? And who will pay for the tests?

[Sku]

I think a lot more festivals will sell out this weekend.

The logistics of whether they can actually go ahead, whether there will need to be vaccine passports, whether there would need to testing... are all immaterial right now. 

A huge wave of FOMO is sweeping the UK, as WhatsApp groups of friends everywhere try and decide which of the remaining festivals they want to take a punt on.

I think everyone knows they still might not go ahead. But the FOMO is strong. If they do go ahead, nobody wants to miss out.

[Zoo Music Girl]

10 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

loads of festies have sold out in the last few days, including ones you've never heard of. I wouldn't be slow in getting the tickets you want.

Don't forget, most of these festivals have already sold a large number of tickets (the rollovers from last year) so the tickets they do have are already very limited.

I'm expecting some one-off big shows to be announced in around a month, so hopefully there'll be some decent stuff available to see away from normal festies.

Yeah I'm sort of accepting that we might not get to one really. I wish we'd booked something last year so we already had it in the diary, but I think I'm a way off persuading him indoors to book something unless the line-up is amazing. 

Might be more the big gigs you mention for us this year. But that's okay. Will still be loads better than last summer!