Entertainment
Download is ‘100% evidence’ festivals can take place safely says organiser as Latitude is confirmed
The organiser of Download Festival says it is ‘100% evidence’ that large-scale music events can take place safely at the moment.
Melvin Benn, managing director of the Festival Republic group, said he had seen an ‘extraordinary’ level of compliance across the three-day festival, and he felt ‘very heart-warmed’ by the festival’s success.
The rock and metal event, which took place this weekend and saw committed fans putting up with heavy downpours of rain, was part of the Government’s live events pilot, meaning fans did not have to wear masks or socially distance – although the capacity was dramatically reduced from 111,000 to around 10,000.
Speaking as the festival wound down, Benn told the PA news agency: ‘It’s extraordinary really. It’s really fantastic. I am very heart-warmed by it all.’
He also praised attendees’ willingness to test and obey Download Festival’s requirements as ‘absolutely extraordinary’.
He continued: ‘In a way that you would expect when you are in the middle or towards the tail end of a pandemic, that level of compliance is extraordinary.
‘It is coupled with a level of normality that is equally extraordinary when you have been out of it for so long.’
Asked about the idea it remains impossible for large-scale music events to be Covid-secure, he said: ‘It is evidence that this is not true. It is 100% evidence that it is not true. This is a very clear demonstration that you can do it.’
Headliners Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Enter Shikari, Bullet For My Valentine and Frank Turner all performed at Download Festival as part of its all-British line-up.
Benn was confident the data being gathered at the festival would prove similar events can take place.
He explained: ‘In fairness, the DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) are on board with the message which is that these things can happen and they can happen safely.
‘What we want from Download is data that scientists can analyse that will effectively reinforce that position, and that data is being gathered and I am certain it will do just that.’
Festival organisers had initially announced in March that they were cancelling the event for a second year due to the pandemic, but in May the Government gave it the green light to go ahead as part of its series of test events, following smaller pilots and the Brit Awards in May.
Latitude Festival, which is also run by Festival Republic, announced on Friday it would be going ahead between July 22 and July 25 in Suffolk.
Benn said he felt ‘sufficiently encouraged’ to push ahead with the festival following talks with the DCMS over the past week and suggested the Government planned to launch a limited coronavirus insurance scheme.
He revealed: ‘I believe, and again there is no guarantee, but I believe the Government will come forward with a limited Government-backed insurance scheme.
‘It wouldn’t be everything that we want by any means but it would certainly be enough to encourage us to all get going again.’
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