British Festival Directors Want Government to Require COVID-19 Vaccination for Event Attendance
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Tickets to live music events in Great Britain have sold like hotcakes since the British government’s recent rollout plan for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the plan is liable to change based on the assessment of its efficiency over time, fans are hopeful that normalized live music events will resume in June 2021.
British festival directors and organizers are skeptical, however, and worried about the potential consequences of a restriction-free post-pandemic landscape. According to The Guardian, many of those organizers are petitioning for the government to mandate vaccination status in order for the public to attend in-person mass gatherings.
“A lot of us want to urge government to follow the example set up already in other areas, like travel, where people will have to show vaccination passports,” Josh Robinson, events director of Hospitality Weekend in the Woods, told The Guardian.
“What we really need is for government to say everybody needs a vaccination to get in,” added Gareth Williams, director of Cropredy. “We need that clarity, rather than each having to go to people and explain.”
While tickets have been sold for events in June and beyond, unequivocal confirmation of their dates and feasibility is still up in the air. The topic itself remains divisive, as some believe it is an infringement of personal rights to require vaccination for event attendance.
Ian Brown, former frontman of The Stone Roses, has already declared that he will not perform at any events that require vaccination. “I refuse to accept vaccination proof as a condition of entry,” said Brown after pulling out of Warrington’s Neighbourhood Weekender event, which is slated for May 2021.
A slew of additional concerns still plague festival and event organizers, who have been petitioning for government insurance in the case of event cancellations and monetary losses. Robinson believes that the entire issue is a moral conundrum. “But if we don’t go ahead soon, the whole support structure for this industry could crumble for good,” he said.
Source: The Guardian
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