Drive-in raves are alright, socially distanced club shows are basically unenforceable… but a new venue in the UK just hosted its first outdoor socially distanced concert and it actually looks pretty great.
The new “socially distanced” outdoor music venue, the Virgin Money Unity Arena, hosted its first official concert on Tuesday night with English singer, songwriter Sam Fender to a sold out crowd of 2,500. Fans were stationed at elevated platforms spaced two meters apart, and safely pre-ordered food and drinks using the arena’s one-way system.
While some people felt the disconnect between the crowd and the usual concert experience, allow me to address the bassheads: everyone gets their own rail.
Of course there are bound to be logistical issues with ingress and egress and everyone getting out at the time they want, but that’s bound to be address and improved over time. For now, it looks like a valid solution that gives fans the freedom to move around as they wish as well as witness a show unhampered.
Virgin Money Unity Arena will continue to host socially distanced concerts throughout the months of August and September. Upcoming performers include The Libertines, Supergrass, Two Door Cinema Club, and Van Morrison.
The UK’s first socially distanced gig is happening now in Newcastle with @samfendermusic headlining, and where attendees have their own private viewing area with 2m of space between them. Here’s what it looks like #samfender #unityarena pic.twitter.com/YBdxpAjYyi
— Kieron Donoghue (@kierondonoghue) August 11, 2020
