Photo Credit: Shannon McGee / CC by 2.0
Despite this week’s cancellation of several crowd-based events, Bonnaroo 2021 is still set to kick off on Thursday, September 2nd – though attendees will have to show that they’ve tested negative for or been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Organizers recently disclosed the COVID-19 health policies for Bonnaroo 2021, which will feature performances from the Foo Fighters, Tame Impala, and Tyler, the Creator, among many other high-profile acts. Beginning with the Manchester, Tennessee, festival’s conditions for entry, ticketholders must demonstrate that they’re fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus – meaning that at least two weeks have passed since they received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.
Alternatively, officials will require those who aren’t fully vaccinated (or haven’t brought their vaccination cards) to present a negative COVID-19 test from sometime during the latter 72 hours. On-site COVID-19 tests will be available (for $40 apiece) for unvaccinated ticketholders who don’t have proof of a negative test from the prior three days, and both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals will then receive a “Health Check Wristband,” which is required to enter Centeroo.
Persons who test positive for the bug at the gate “will be given a second (complimentary) test for confirmation,” according to Bonnaroo’s website. And if this second test delivers the same result, medical professionals will provide the would-be attendee at hand with “a pre-printed card with instructions on how to request a refund for their ticket.”
Regarding masks, Bonnaroo, like Lollapalooza, “will require masks in any indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status” – but not outdoors and, in turn, during the performances themselves. Unvaccinated persons, however, should “wear a mask at all times while on The Farm,” though it’s unclear how staff intend to enforce the protocol during the four-day happening, which sold 80,000 tickets in 2019 and has sold out of general-admission and VIP passes alike this year.
Lastly, in another testament to organizers’ desire to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission at Bonnaroo 2021, higher-ups have also published a seemingly stringent “Bonnaroo Fan Health Pledge.” Said pledge asks that passholders “not attend the festival” if they or members of their party have tested positive for COVID-19 “or been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19″ within 14 days of the event.
Similarly, fans who experience symptoms of the bug during the 48 hours before the event are asked not to attend, as are individuals who’ve “traveled to any international territory identified by federal or applicable state or local governments as being subject to travel or quarantine advisories due to COVID-19.”
Live Nation enjoyed a material Q2 2021 revenue uptick amid the return of concerts and music festivals, according to its latest earnings report, and CTS Eventim last week signaled confidence in the live-entertainment space’s long-term potential by revealing plans to construct a more than $210 million arena in Milan, Italy.
