Colombian promoters experiment with drive-in shows
Drive-in shows are becoming increasingly popular in Colombia, where promoters have been experimenting with the outdoor format.
Cúcuta, a Colombian city at the Venezuelan border, held its first drive-in concert last weekend (24 October) with a format that could cater to a maximum of 480 people.
The site, outside of Unicentro Shopping Center, was split into 60 ‘boxes’ to accommodate a maximum of eight people and one car.
Each box was equipped with its own sanitisation station and an individual bathroom and a waiter was designated to each one, ensuring that no party mixed with another.
Patrons were required to have their temperature taken and to sanitise upon arrival.
The event was supported by the Cúcuta Mayor’s Office which is promoting the safe restart of events to maintain employment and income in the sector. The event is said to have created a total of 300 jobs, directly and indirectly.
Caravana will comprise a total of 20 shows, featuring performances from Santiago Cruz and Lospetitfellas
The Cúcuta event was based on the drive-in cinema model, which has also become popular in Colombia, with theatres popping up in Medellín, Cali and Villavicencio.
Elsewhere, Colombian promoters Ocesa Colombia, Páramo Presenta and Live Nation are part-way through their drive-in concert series, Caravana.
The series launched on 7 October and will run until 28 November, taking place in the car park of the Salitre Mágico theme park in the capital, Bogota.
The 17,800 square-metre site comprises three locations (two exclusively for cars and one for trucks and vans) and can accommodate 280 vehicles each with up to four people.
The series will comprise a total of 20 shows, featuring performances from Santiago Cruz, Vincente Garcia and Lospetitfellas.
The first drive-in shows in Latin America took place in Puerto Rico in July, courtesy of Move Concerts, closely followed by similar events in Mexico.
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Ocesa spearheads Colombia’s first drive-in shows
Colombian promoters Ocesa Colombia and Páramo Presenta have announced the country’s first drive-in concerts.
The shows, staged in partnership with Live Nation, will be held in the car park of the Salitre Mágico theme park in Bogota. Organisers expect the first concerts, which will include a range of artists and genres, to take place in early October, Páramo Presenta’s Sergio Pabón tells radio show La W.
Initially only open to cars, the shows will be opened up to motorbikes towards the end of the year, he adds.
In Colombia, concerts and other large events are excluded from a loosening of coronavirus restrictions scheduled for 30 September.
“We want fans to enjoy the music and have fun from their vehicles”
Ocesa Colombia’s Luz Ángela Castro says there will capacity for 290 vehicles, “with a minimum of two people in the car and a maximum of four”.
The promoters expect to announce dates and an initial line-up next month. “We have complied with what the public asks of us, and that is also what we want: That fans enjoy [the music] and have fun from their vehicles,” adds Ángela Castro. “Now the public must help us” by buying tickets, he says.
The first drive-in shows in Latin America took place in Puerto Rico in July, courtesy of Move Concerts, closely followed by similar events in Mexico.
Ocesa Colombia’s Mexico-based parent company, Ocesa, was supposed to have been acquired by Live Nation this year. However, the deal was controversially called off in May after LN, reeling from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, said it could not agree revised terms with Ocesa owners CIE and Televisa Group.
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