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US set to host first indoor arena show since March

American hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia have announced they will be performing at the first indoor arena show in the US since the pandemic began in March.

The group are set to perform at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky on 11 December this year, alongside Project Pat, Sean Da Don, Gem, and Real Gates.

The 21,017 arena seating capacity will be scaled down to 15% capacity, which includes 3,152 patrons and event staff. Tickets will be sold in restricted socially distanced seat blocks of up to six, with the vast majority of tickets in blocks of four.

According to Three 6 Mafia, the concert has been approved by the governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, who was first elected in 2019.

“We are excited for this opportunity to reopen our doors and welcome concert-goers back to Rupp Arena”

“We have been in contact with the Kentucky State Department of Health for many weeks, working out the details and coming up with a plan that fulfils the safety protocols recommended by the CDC and the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” says Lexington Centre Corporation CEO and president Bill Owen.

“We are confident that the measures we have put in place will provide a safe environment for patrons to come out and enjoy live entertainment. We are excited for this opportunity to reopen our doors and welcome concert-goers back to Rupp Arena!”

Tickets are now on sale but due to Covid-19 restrictions, they are mobile-only. Fans can only use the Ticketmaster transfer option to forward tickets to the attending guests in order to aide in contact tracing.

Face coverings for guests and staff will be required to be worn during the entire event. All guests will be subject to temperature checks and must adhere to social distancing throughout the facility including their seating location.

 


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Taiwan revels in success of first post-Covid arena show

Taiwanese artist Eric Chou performed to a sold-out, full-capacity Taipei Arena (cap. 15,350) on 8 and 9 August, delivering Asia’s first post-Covid arena shows.

In July, the singer announced a series of four concerts in major arenas in Taiwan – including two upcoming dates at the 15,000-capacity Kaohsiung Arena on 5 and 6 September – which sold out in a quarter of an hour.

All attendees of the Tapei Arena shows were required to wear masks, undergo temperature checks upon entry, and provide identification that would facilitate contact tracing should the need arise. Pink medical masks and square alcohol wipes were provided.

“We were the first to do it during this Covid-19 situation, and there was a lot of preparation,” Chou told the South China Morning Post. “But the show went really well – every part was exactly like how I pictured it was going to be.”

The concerts come after the Taiwanese government lifted all limits on the number of people allowed to attend public gatherings, including cultural events, on 7 June, and removed the need for social distancing at concert halls and stadiums.

“The show went really well – every part was exactly like how I pictured it was going to be”

Taiwan has been praised worldwide for its response to the coronavirus crisis. The country, which has a population of more than 23 million, has recorded 479 cases of Covid-19 and only seven deaths. In early June, after no new locally transmitted cases were recorded for eight weeks, leading to the lifting of restrictions.

Taipei Arena has announced a number of concerts scheduled for the coming weeks, including Zhan Yawen’s 30th Anniversary Tour and the Folk 45 Summit.

The restart of arena shows comes following the Taiwan ministry of culture’s issuing of 2.1 million electronic cultural vouchers, worth NT$600 (€18) each, for tickets to concerts, art exhibitions and other cultural events, or to buy items at venues or culture-focused shops.

The NT$1.2 billion (€35.3m) programme aims to boost the cultural and arts sector and encourage people to attend cultural events as the Covid-19 situation subsides in Taiwan. The programme is expected to generate an estimated NT$5bn (€146.8m) for the sector.

Chou’s arena shows signal that Taiwan’s live music scene may return to something like normalcy sooner rather than later.


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