Joe GallopThe National Arenas Association (NAA) has confirmed that all its members have decided to bring in Covid-19 pass measures.
Although the rules on Covid status checks do not apply to all its venues – some of which have capacities below 10,000 – NAA chair Lucy Noble (pictured) said every member has decided to bring the measures in to “reassure audiences”.
Noble, who is also Royal Albert Hall artistic director, said, “This decision has gone down well with concert attendees but it comes with a large financial cost, places a huge additional burden on staff and naturally causes some delays to events.
“We will do anything we can to ensure that our venues remain open safely at full capacity.”
Since 15 December a proof of vaccination has been required to gain entry to unseated indoor events with 500 or more attendees, unseated outdoor events with 4,000 or more attendees and any event with 10,000 or more attendees.
According to the Music Venue Trust (MVT), during the week since Johnson announced the roll out of Plan B, venue attendance, ticket sales and spend per head has dropped by a “catastrophic” amount and the sector is “on the brink of collapse”.
LIVE CEO Greg Parmley said, “The introduction of Plan B results in an unfair double standard that allows people to go on all-day pub crawls in crowded bars without having to prove their Covid-19 status, whilst live music venues get hit with certification.”