U.K. Hosts Experimental 5,000 Person Maskless Concert

When will we be able to gather in large crowds such as a festival setting? Organizers in Liverpool, England recently took another step toward finding an answer to that question by staging an experimental maskless concert with 5,000 attendees not adhering to social distancing protocol.

That said, it should be noted that the concert in question only allowed in patrons that had tested negative for Covid-19 prior to entry and had agreed to be tested again five days after the concert took place. Ticket-holders were asked to take a lateral flow test at a local testing center prior to entry. Additional, attendees were asked to provide contact details to the NHS Test and Trace to ensure they could be reached if someone tested positive.

The data collected from those participating was designed to help the U.K.’s Events Research Programme understand the effects of crowds on the spread of the virus at such mass gathering events.

The event took place in a purpose-built tent with indie-rock outfit Blossoms headlining and local singer-songwriter Zuzu and fellow indie band The Lathums opening according to Australia’s ABC News. In total, the concert lasted six hours.

“You don’t want to go back and it happens and then something happens and we have to go back, do you know what I mean, 10 steps,” said Blossoms drummer Joe Donavan.

Singer-guitarist Tom Ogden added, “Yeah we’ve waited this long now I think if people … if they said … I think at one point I’d have been willing to wait till next year if they could have guaranteed we’d be back. So, you know, we’re not in any rush to just, you know, open it too fast. I think it’s better to do it like Joe said, in the way we’re doing it now.” The band posted footage from the show on their Instagram account as can be viewed below.

This actually marked the second experiment conducted to determine the viability for mass gathering events as the world starts to open back up in a post-vaccine environment. Also in Liverpool last week, around 3,000 people aged 18-to-20 attended a warehouse rave without masks or social distancing restrictions.

At press time, results from the shows had not been revealed.

At present in England, a maximum of six people are allowed to gather outdoors with that number expected to expand to gatherings of 30 people by May 17.