While parts of the country begin to reopen, it’ll still be some time before music fans can attend concerts the way they were accustomed to. Shortly into the pandemic, a pair of industry professionals got to work on crafting safety measures
As reported by Billboard, Steven Adelman and Jacob Worek of the Event Safety Alliance have released a 29-page guide outlining recommended guidelines venues follow upon reopening.
Adelman and Worek crowd-sourced over 400 tour promoters, managers, Ticketmaster employees, caterers, and Irish-fair organizers to help craft their guidelines. One of the main challenges in creating this document was ensuring all types of spaces were covered. Whether it’s a small event space that fits up to 50 people or a venue accommodating thousands of people, there’s a wide variety of factors to take into consideration.
A portion of the guidelines highlights a change to some very common concert activities including moshing, standing at barricades & crowd surfing.
"Patrons cannot all stand at the front of the stage like they are accustomed; moshing and crowd surfing are violations of social distancing per se and must be absolutely prohibited during this pandemic," reads the document.
You can view the Event Safety Alliance’s entire reopening guidelines here, but below are a few recommended guidelines for venues to follow.
* Hand-washing every hour, as well as after sneezing, mopping, smoking, eating, drinking and other select activities.
* Required masks.
* Sanitizing door handles, sink faucets, soap dispensers, elevator buttons, phones, water fountains, vending machines, trash bins and computers, among many other things.
* Stagger lines into venues so patrons don't have to cluster in lines.
* Temperature screening for every customer.
* Clear protective shields for will-call and box-office windows.
* Employers must provide paid sick leave. When employees can't stay six feet away from others, they should form work teams "in which people routinely work together, but they keep their distance from everyone else."
* Educate fans "everywhere," including mobile apps, ticket-selling sites and social media.