90% of UK fans feel confident attending a show in 2021

A new survey of 140,000 British festivalgoers has found that nine out of ten would be confident attending at least one live event this year.

The survey, carried out by Festicket, discovered that 79% of respondents would feel comfortable attending an event this summer (defined as June to August), with that number rising to 90% when including events in the final four months of the year.

Additionally, 82% of fans said they are planning to attend two or more festivals or live events this year, reflecting the huge demand for tickets since prime minister Boris Johnson’s reopening ‘roadmap’ was unveiled in February.

More than half of respondents said they would also be happy to book tickets for overseas events, while just 8% reported they would only feel comfortable attending an event if they had been vaccinated against Covid-19.

Elsewhere, the biggest demand for changes on site is for extra cleaning and hygiene measures, with 58.5% deeming this essential, followed closely by a desire for to be able to pay and enter the festival contactlessly.

“It’s clear there has been a shift in perspective in the UK over the past month”

Over 52% said contactless ticketing, contactless access control at the door and reduced queues would be key in their decision to attend, while 70% of people said they would be more encouraged to attend a festival/event if it were to implement a Covid-secure cashless system on site for bars, food vendors and other payments.

Zack Sabban, CEO of Festicket, whose Event Genius platform has invested heavily in Covid-compliant cashless and contactless entry systems, says: “It’s clear there has been a shift in perspective in the UK over the past month. Following the prime minister’s announcement in February, stories of 2021 events selling out have become common, but we wanted to dig a little deeper.”

Among the UK festivals to have recently sold out their 2021 editions are Reading Festival, Boomtown, Creamfields, Wireless, Parklife and Kendal Calling.

“Coupling customer opinion with ongoing event partner conversations puts us in a strong position to help the industry bounce back successfully,” continues Sabban. “It’s important that the industry works within all government guidance available, but, more specifically, listening to your fans is essential and delivering events in the way they now demand is critical for success.”

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