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Geoff Ellis says the vaccine rollouts are ‘encouraging’ for the festival sector, which has been hard hit by the Coronavirus pandemic
Lauren Heath-Jones | Planet Attractions | 09 Feb 2021
TRNSMT is scheduled for July 2021
The boss of TRNSMT, one of Scotland’s largest music festivals, has claimed that it’s “too soon” to rule out the possibility of large scale events being able to go ahead in Scotland this summer.
Responding to warnings from an unnamed senior civil servant that 2021 would likely be another difficult year for the events sector, Geoff Ellis, CEO of DF Concerts, said: “Everyone appreciates that it is not safe to reopen right now. The summer is still months away yet and it is really encouraging to see just how fast the governments are rolling out the vaccines programme.”
“We’re pretty much leading the way globally on the vaccine roll-out, and hearing reports that the adult population could potentially be vaccinated by May gives the whole industry cautious confidence that all hope for the summer is not yet lost.”
Ellis’s comments follow the news that organisers pulled the plug on this year’s Glastonbury Festival, while a public health order put an end to both the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals in the US.
Ellis has previously said that he is determined to bring back TRNSMT in 2021, believing that a combination of mass testing and vaccine rollouts would make it possible. The Glasgow-based festival is currently scheduled to take place between July 9 and July 11, 2021, with headliners including Liam Gallagher and Lewis Capaldi.
Unlikely to return to normal
Paul Bush, COO of EventScotland, told Scotland on Sunday that the events industry was “becoming increasingly resigned” to the likelihood that festivals and venues wouldn’t be able to operate as normal in 2021.
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, speaking at the Scottish Government daily coronavirus briefings in January, said that a return to normality for Scotland’s festival and events sector would be unlikely this year.
“The honest answer would be no, I can’t say that with certainty,” she said.
“I hope, just like everyone else hopes, that by then we will have restored a lot of normality to life, but you know we equally have to be realistic and pragmatic.”
Despite Ellis’ optimistic comments the UK festival sector continues to be hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In January, members of the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport heard from a panel of industry experts on the impact the pandemic has had on the festival industry.
Committee members heard that a time frame for when mass gatherings would be permitted as well as government-supported COVID-19 cancellation insurance were crucial to the future of UK music festivals.
Members were also advised that the majority of UK festivals would not survive if they were forced to cancel for a second year.
“The UK has the biggest festival market globally. We are proud of that. Music is one of our biggest exports. If we do not take place in ‘21, I think the vast majority could disappear,” said Sacha Lord, co-founder of Parklife Festival.
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