Mexico City is set to gain a new 20,000-capacity festival this November, headlined by Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals and Jungle.

Simifest will take place on 23 November in Bicentennial Park with supporting acts including Motel, Ely Guerra, Technicolor Fabrics and Ruzzi.

The festival has been organised by Mexico’s largest pharmacy chain, Farmacias Similares.

In the live music world, Farmacias Similares is synonymous with its moustachioed mascot doll, Doctor Simi, which has been hurled at countless superstars during concerts.

The well-documented phenomenon began at the Corona Capital 2021 festival, when a young woman threw the stuffed doll at Norwegian singer Aurora during her performance.

Simifest will take place on 23 November in Bicentennial Park with acts including Motel, Ely Guerra and Technicolor Fabrics

The exchange gained momentum on social media the next day, causing the trend to spread around the world at concerts by artists such as Adele, Karol G, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, The Killers, Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber and My Chemical Romance.

“The Mexican public is always looking for ways that they can connect with their idols. And Dr. Simi has become just this connection between the public and the artist,” Javier Jarquín, editor-in-chief of popular Mexican music magazine Kuadro, told VICE in 2023.

Capitalising on the popularity of Doctor Simi, the pharmacy has launched Simifest to raise money for its social and environmental assistance foundations.

Proceeds from the festival, which costs 1,645 pesos (about €76/$82) to attend, will go to the reforestation efforts of its foundations.

“Simifest has an environmental purpose,” explained Victor Gonzalez Herrera at a press conference. “For each ticket sold, a life bomb will be generated that will be launched during the rainy season [November]; this innovative reforestation method consists of throwing spheres made of clay, soil, compost and seeds from small planes to restore hard-to-reach areas more effectively.”

crossovers que no sabía que necesitaba pic.twitter.com/Ia4yhuQa3r

— la combi cuidado con el perro (@tonayantears) November 22, 2021

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

The French government has announced that events with over 5,000 attendees will be banned until November, extending the original ban on major events for a second time.

In May, the government declared a summer event ban until mid-July before pushing it back until September.

This month, prime minister Jean Castex announced that the ban would once again be extended to November, following a concerning new spike in France’s recorded cases of Coronavirus.

“Events of more than 5,000 people remain prohibited until 30 October, with the possibility for prefects to waive them subject to strict compliance with health protocols,” says a statement from the French government.

Last Wednesday, France registered 3,776 new Covid-19 infections, marking a new post-lockdown peak and bringing the total to 225,043.

Festivals including Lollapalooza Paris, Hellfest, La Route du Rock, Rock en Seine were forced to cancel their 2020 editions

Festivals including Lollapalooza Paris, Hellfest, La Route du Rock, Rock en Seine, Eurockéennes de Belfort, Solidays, Festival d’Avignon and Main Square were forced to cancel their 2020 editions due to France’s ongoing event ban.

The new measures in France are identical to that of Germany, following German chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to extend the country’s event ban to November, but with exceptions for those able to comply with coronavirus regulations.

Elsewhere in Europe, Belgium recently announced more stringent restrictions, halving the number of people permitted to attend indoor and outdoor events, reducing capacity limits to 100 and 200 respectively.

The country’s capacity limits had been set to double in August, which would have seen 400-capacity indoor shows and open-air events of up to 800 people, but plans were slashed after a worrying increase in coronavirus cases.

However, Switzerland is planning a promising return to live, permitting events with more than 1,000 people from 1 October.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.