Blockbuster tours and fests boost UK music tourism
UK music tourism increased by 33% in 2023 thanks to concerts from the likes of Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Harry Styles and Blur and festivals including Glastonbury, Boomtown and TRNSMT.
Around 19.2 million music tourists (national and international) attended live music events across the UK last year, up from 14.4 million in 2022, according to new research from UK Music.
This figure includes 1.014 million foreign music tourists (roughly in line with 1.053m in 2022) and 18.2m domestic music tourists (an increase of 36% from 2022 when the total was 13.3m).
London saw a 40% rise in music tourists from 4.9 million in 2022 to 6.9 million in 2023, while the South West saw an 86% increase from one million in 2022 to two million in 2023, and the North East enjoyed a 29% increase from 352,000 in 2022 to 489,000 in 2023.
“The UK’s thriving music industry continues to be one of our most powerful global exports”
Music tourism spending in 2023 also surged to £8 billion, a 21% increase from 2022 when the figure was £6.6bn.
That figure includes £4.2bn spent directly by music tourists attending concerts and festivals in the UK, including the cost of a ticket, on-site spend, travel, accommodation, and meals while travelling to events. A further £3.8bn was spent indirectly through the value chain, including costs such as fencing and security or a restaurant paying for ingredients.
Total employment sustained by music tourism increased too, surging 17% from 53,000 in 2022 to 62,000 in 2023.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is likely to give a further significant boost to figures for 2024, making the UK one of the global touring centres, says umbrella association UK Music.
“The UK’s thriving music industry continues to be one of our most powerful global exports and an important driver of economic growth,” says UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy.
“In towns and cities across the country, the music industry provides entertainment, employment and inspiration to millions. This government will work hard to ensure our creative industries get the support they need to flourish, driving opportunity and economic growth into every community and inspiring the next generation of performers.”
“We’re looking forward to working with the new Government to ensure that all our towns and cities have thriving music ecosystems”
Despite the growth in UK music tourism, independent festivals and grassroots music venues are still struggling with rising costs and changes in ticket-buying habits.
The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) reported that 50 UK festivals have completely closed or been postponed or cancelled for 2024, while the Music Venue Trust (MVT) reports that 125 venues in 2023 either shut or stopped live music.
“While music generates huge benefits for our local areas, beyond a handful of very successful musicians the opportunities for many artists are becoming increasingly squeezed,” says UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl.
“Grassroots music venues and festivals, studios and rehearsal spaces are facing tough economic pressures and it’s vital that the music ecosystem that enables musicians and artists to perform is supported to ensure that everyone – no matter where they live – can have access to music.
“We’re looking forward to working with the new Government to ensure that all our towns and cities have thriving music ecosystems that support the growth of the industry – generating thousands more jobs, boosting economic growth and making their areas even more attractive to visitors.”
Last week, live music business organisations in the UK delivered their verdicts on the King’s Speech, which outlined the new Labour government’s legislative priorities.
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Scotland’s TRNSMT ramps up sustainability efforts
DF Concerts boss Geoff Ellis has addressed TRNSMT’s decision to ban single-use vapes and reflected on the Scottish festival’s ongoing efforts to improve the gender balance of its lineups.
In a new interview ahead of this weekend’s 50,000-cap event on Glasgow Green, Ellis says fans will also be prohibited from taking in flags, glass and selfie sticks.
“It’s purely from a sustainability point of view in the same way that we’ve banned plastic on site as well,” he tells the BBC. “We try to do what we can in terms of sustainability and we try to encourage the audience to do the same.”
Single-use vapes are already banned at events such as Glastonbury, with the Scottish government also planning to ban the sale and supply of the electronic devices in the country by 1 April next year due to environmental concerns.
“If you get the message out there to people, people listen,” adds Ellis. “If you tell them not to bring stuff, they tend not to bring them. We’ve got a fairly rigorous searching system at the gate with the stewards anyway.”
“I think all festivals do what they can to improve gender balance and at TRNSMT this year, we’ve actually over 50% of acts that identify as female”
TRNSMT, which runs from 12-14 July, has faced frequent criticism for booking non-diverse lineups in the past and will again feature three all-male headliners this year – Liam Gallagher, Gerry Cinnamon and Calvin Harris.
Other artists will include Garbage, Courteeners. Chase & Status, The Snuts, Rick Astley, Tom Grennan, Declan McKenna, Dylan John Thomas, Blossoms, Sugababes, Natasha Bedingfield, Alison Goldfrapp, Lauren Spencer Smith and The Vaccines. While only seven out of the 24 acts on the main stage feature women, the gender split across the wider bill is close to even.
“All three headline acts are male acts, there’s no denying that,” says Ellis. “But I think all festivals do what they can to improve gender balance and at TRNSMT this year, we’ve actually over 50% of acts that identify as female.
“It’s not the three headliners so there’s still work to be done, and work to be done with developing artists. Gerry Cinnamon played the very first TRNSMT on the King Tut’s stage and now he’s headlining this year.
“We’ve got people like Dylan John Thomas and The Snuts coming through on a very similar path as well. It’s very important to help develop new artists.”
“We are really happy with how the inaugural Stirling Summer Sessions went”
Elsewhere, DF is toasting the successful debut of its Summer Sessions in Stirling, which recently joined Edinburgh and Glasgow as hosts of the annual concert series in Scotland. Held at the foot of Stirling Castle, Stirling City Park, from 27 June to 2 July, acts included Shania Twain, Tom Jones, James Arthur, Busted and Young Fathers.
Stirling’s Business Improvement District reports its footfall data showed a 51.1% increase in visitors over the duration of the event, with local businesses reporting substantial sales growth.
“We are really happy with how the inaugural Stirling Summer Sessions went,” says Ellis. “Hosting such a huge line-up – including the incredible Shania Twain, who played to over 20,000 enthusiastic fans after her memorable Legends Slot at Glastonbury – was truly a highlight for everyone involved and something very special for the area.
“The setting of Stirling City Park, in the shadow of the historic Stirling Castle, provided the perfect backdrop for a great few days of live music.
“We are incredibly thankful to the fans who attended for their energy and passion, and also extend our gratitude to the people of Stirling and all our stakeholders for their unwavering support and dedication, which were instrumental in making this event a success.”
“The industry is seeing increased demand for sustainable buildings and sustainable venue practices”
Also in Scotland, Aberdeen’s P&J Live has unveiled details of a multi-faceted sustainability campaign set to boost the venue’s environmental credentials as part of its commitment to achieving Net Zero carbon emissions target by 2050.
The 15,000-cap venue recently commissioned sustainability specialist Positive Planet to act as its Net Zero consultants and has started the implementation of a Carbon Reduction Plan to actively reduce the site’s carbon footprint. Several complementary initiatives around its energy strategy, transportation, food supply, waste and marketing will further help the venue’s bid to halve greenhouse gas emissions before 2030.
“From conferences to live entertainment, the industry is seeing increased demand for sustainable buildings and sustainable venue practices, with artists such as Coldplay and Billie Eilish actively pushing towards fully sustainable tours,” says P&J Live MD Rob Wicks.
“With everything that was originally designed into the building and wider site, including a low carbon energy centre to power, heat and cool the venue, an anaerobic digestion plant that generates gas from local food and crop waste, as well as our various certifications and initiatives, I feel we are well placed to cater for what artists, event organisers and delegates need as we improve our combined sustainability performance.
“There is still a lot of work to be done, but by measuring our carbon emissions we have a clear benchmark to work from as we commence our carbon reduction plans. It’s also been most encouraging to see the support from the team internally and we work towards consolidating all our green initiatives into a set of meaningful goals and our own in-house pledge.”
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Festivals 2024: Primavera, Superbloom, TRNSMT
Primavera Sound, Trnsmt and Superbloom are among the latest batch of European festivals to reveal their 2024 bills.
Set for 29 May to 2 June, the 22nd Primavera Sound Barcelona will be headlined by Lana Del Rey, Pulp and SZA. Other artists will include The National, PJ Harvey, Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, Disclosure, FKA Twigs, Justice and Mitski.
Once again, the lineup highlights the event’s commitment to equality (42.36% women, 42.36% men and 15.28% mixed projects), which has been its hallmark since the historic 2019 edition balanced the gender distribution for the first time.
Germany’s 50,000-cap Superbloom Festival, which debuted in 2022, returns to Munich’s Olympic Park on 7-8 September with artists such as Sam Smith, The Chainsmokers, Louis Tomlinson, Nothing But Thieves, RIN, Tokio Hotel and Kenya Grace.
Held on Glasgow Green, Scotland, from 12-14 July, DF Concerts’ TRNSMT will be topped by Liam Gallagher, Gerry Cinnamon and Calvin Harris. The bill will also include the likes of Garbage, Courteeners, Chase & Status, The Snuts, Rick Astley, Tom Grennan, Declan McKenna, Dylan John Thomas, Blossoms, Sugababes and Example.
Elsewhere, Metallica will star at the 10th anniversary of Norway’s Tons of Rock, set for 26-29 June in Oslo, joining the previously announced TOOL, Judas Priest and Greta Van Fleet.
“Bringing Metallica to Norway and Tons of Rock is bigger than words can describe”
“Bringing Metallica to Norway and Tons of Rock is bigger than words can describe,” says Tons of Rock CEO Jarle Kvåle. “The journey here is longer than anyone can imagine, but at the same time there has never been a shorter gap between us as fans and us organisers. Seeing Metallica is every metal fan’s childhood dream. To see them at Tons of Rock in our 10th year is indescribable.”
Finland’s Flow Festival will welcome Pulp, Fred again.., The Smile, PJ Harvey, Jessie Ware, Denzel Curry, Kenya Grace and Overmono, among others, to Helsinki for its 20th anniversary event from 9-11 August.
The UK’s All Points East, which has announced a naming rights partnership with Uber Eats, runs from 16-25 August. Promoter AEG Presents has confirmed Loyle Carner as its first headliner for 17 August. He will be joined at London’s Victoria Park by special guests Nas, Ezra Collective, Sainté, Joe James, ENNY and Navy Blue.
Portugal’s NOS Alive (11-13 July), which last week named Dua Lipa as its first act for 2024, has since added the Smashing Pumpkins, Khruangbin, Benjamin Clementine, Kenya Grace, Black Pumas and Nothing But Thieves.
Meanwhile, Måneskin have joined Dua Lipa and Foo Fighters as headliners of Belgium’s Rock Werchter from 4-7 July. The Italian rock band will also headline Portugal’s Super Bock Super Rock, which takes place from 18-20 July.
Croatia’s biggest open-air music festival INmusic, which pulled the plug on its 2023 edition due to a myriad of financial challenges, returns to Zagreb between 24-26 June next year, when it will feature artists including The National, Smashing Pumpkins, The Gaslight Anthem and Viagra Boys.
“It is a great honour for us to collaborate with such a significant excellence”
And Italy’s Lucca Summer Festival (LSF) has revealed the first four headliners for its 2024 series: Ed Sheeran (8-9 June), Rod Stewart (7 July), Kolkata (11 July), Diana Krall (15 July). The festival has announced a new sponsorship deal with Lucca-based U-Boat watches.
“It is a great honour for us to collaborate with such a significant excellence in the territory as U-Boat is,” says LSF founder Mimmo D’Alessandro, CEO of D’Alessandro e Galli. “Two great realities that meet and collaborate for the city and for the Lucca Summer Festival project represent an important example of mutual support and that of the city.”
Plus, Lollapalooza India is back for its second edition from 27-28 January, featuring headliners Sting, Jonas Brothers, Halsey and OneRepublic at Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai. The event will also welcome acts such as Keane, Lauv, Jungle, Royal Blood, JPEGMAFIA, Meduza, Malaa, Caribou and The Roseat.
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Festival Focus: More huge names confirmed for ’23
Another spate of European festivals have announced headliners and main stage artists for their 2023 editions.
Dutch festival Pinkpop has confirmed that British pop star Robbie Williams will return to Landgraaf for the first time since 2015.
He will close out Saturday night at the festival – which is said to be “the oldest and longest-running annual dedicated pop and rock music festival in the world” – while P!nk will top the bill on the Friday night. English indie rock band Editors and Dutch electronic band Goldband are also on the 2023 bill.
The 52nd edition of Pinkpop, promoted by Live Nation-owned Mojo Concerts, will take place between 16–18 June, next year.
Williams is also set to perform at the UK’s Isle of Wight festival, alongside Pulp, George Ezra and Chemical Brothers. Sugarbabes, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Anne-Marie, Gabrielle, Blondie and Ella Henderson have also been confirmed for the event, which runs between 15–18 June in Seaclose Park, Newport.
The festival is promoted by Solo Agency’s John Giddings and Live Nation.
Lowlands: “The oldest and longest-running annual dedicated pop and rock music festival in the world”
Elsewhere in the UK, DF Concert’s TRNSMT festival will see Pulp, George Ezra, Niall Horan, Sam Fender, Kasabian, The 1975 and Royal Blood perform at Glasgow Green in Scotland between 7–9 July next year.
Further South in the UK, Latitude will bring Pulp, Paulo Nutini, George Ezra, The Kooks, Metronomy to Henham Park, Suffolk, between 20–23 July.
In Poland, promoter Alter Art has announced Arctic Monkeys for the 2023 edition of Open’er, slated for 28 June to 1 July at Gdynia-Kosakowo in Gdynia. The English rockstars will close the Orange Main Stage on the Friday night, in support of their new album The Car.
And in neighbouring Czech Republic, Colours of Ostrava have confirmed US pop rock band One Republic as the first headliner for next year’s instalment, set for 19–22 July at Dolní Vítkovice in Ostrava.
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DF Concerts celebrates record-breaking summer
Scotland’s DF Concerts has heralded a record-breaking summer, having sold one million tickets between June and August.
The promoter says that, as a result, it has made an economic impact of around £72.4 million on tourism and hospitality businesses in its domestic market.
The Glasgow-headquartered company expects that, by the end of 2022, it will have welcomed over 50% of the population of Scotland to one of its concerts or events.
DF promotes some 1,000 concerts per year, as well as its festivals TRNSMT (Glasgow), Connect (Edinburgh) and Summer Sessions (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee). In addition, the promoter owns and operates grassroots music venue, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut (Glasgow).
This year’s sold-out edition of TRNSMT topped DF’s best-selling events of the summer, attracting 50,000 attendees on each of its three days.
Other highlights include two nights from The Killers at Falkirk Stadium (cap. 25,000), and Harry Styles performing to 50,000 people at Glasgow’s Ibrox football stadium.
“It’s looking like it will be more of the same next year”
This summer also saw DF revive Connect, a music festival that originally took place in Argyll, Scotland, in the mid-noughties.
The reboot took place at The Royal Highland Centre (RHC), an exhibition centre and showgrounds located near Edinburgh airport, between 26–28 August.
The Chemical Brothers, The National, Little Simz, Mogwai and Bombay Bicycle Club were among the artists that performed at the camping festival.
In total, DF Concerts had 33 days of outdoor shows from June to August, at venues including Slessor Gardens in Dundee, Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre Showgrounds and Princes Street Gardens, SWG3 Galvanizers Yard, Glasgow Green, and Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, plus Hampden Park, Ibrox and Falkirk Stadiums.
“This has been a really special summer season for all involved,” Geoff Ellis, CEO of DF Concerts, tells IQ. “It has seen a seven-figure investment in new events for music lovers across the country, diversifying the experiences available in Scotland.
“With two stadium shows, one greenfield and two festivals already announced for summer 2023 and more to come very soon, it’s looking like it will be more of the same next year.”
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Top UK festivals report strong ticket sales
BST Hyde Park, TRNSMT and Lytham festivals have all reported strong sales following another huge weekend of live music in the UK.
Held for the first time since 2019, AEG’s 65,000-cap BST series in London expanded to three weekends, selling 530,000 tickets across nine shows and welcoming a further 70,000 people to its Open House programme of free events between the weekends.
Adele, the Rolling Stones and Pearl Jam each headlined two nights, with Elton John, Eagles and Duran Duran also headlining shows. Support acts included Pixies, Stereophonics, Johnny Marr, Cat Power, Laura Mvula and Phoebe Bridgers.
“The demand for tickets was huge and we are very proud to have sold out the series”
“Like everyone in the festival business and across live music we are so happy to be back doing what we love and seeing music fans experiencing these great shows,” says AEG European Festivals CEO Jim King. “The calibre of artists we have had in Hyde Park was incredible with so many outstanding performances. The demand for tickets was huge and we are very proud to have sold out the series.”
In Scotland, DF Concerts’ three-day TRNSMT in Glasgow hosted 50,000 fans per day to see homegrown headliners Lewis Capaldi and Paolo Nutini, plus The Strokes and a supporting line-up including Sam Fender, Foals, Wolf Alice, Nile Rodgers + Chic, The Snuts, DMA’s and Sigrid.
“What an incredible weekend we’ve had,” says festival director Geoff Ellis. “We had the sun shining on Glasgow Green, a fantastic line up of over 70 artists across four stages and 50,000 incredible fans every day – we really couldn’t have asked for more.”
“TRNSMT marks the halfway point in Scotland’s record-breaking summer of music”
DF pressed ahead with a UK-heavy bill for TRNSMT last September after cancelling in 2020 due to Covid-19, but was able to return to business as usual this year.
“It was great to welcome back international artists to Glasgow Green, but also to see excited music fans enjoying our best homegrown talent, with Paolo Nutini closing day one and The Snuts getting the crowd going on Saturday,” adds Ellis. “TRNSMT marks the halfway point in Scotland’s record-breaking summer of music and I’d like to thank the artists, the fans and everyone who works extremely hard behind the scenes to make this festival happen.”
TRNSMT’s 2023 edition has been confirmed for 7-9 July next year, with ticket prices frozen for a limited time.
“It has taken us three years to bring Lytham Festival back and we came back in style”
Elsewhere, Live Nation’s Cuffe and Taylor attracted almost 200,000 fans over 10 days to its flagship Lytham Festival in Lancashire, which returned from 28 June to 10 July after a three-year absence, headlined by Diana Ross, Lewis Capaldi, Snow Patrol, Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers + Chic, Simply Red, Elbow, The Strokes, Alison Moyet and Paul Weller. The 20,000-cap event will revert to five days next year.
“More than 30 artists presenting 10 nights of live music has been absolutely phenomenal,” says co-founder Peter Taylor. “It’s taken us three years to bring Lytham Festival back and we came back in style. It has also been an absolute joy to see tens of thousands of people joining together with their friends and family to experience some of the best nights of their lives.”
The latest success comes on the heels of what is believed to be the Britain’s biggest weekend of live music ever at the end of June, with more than one million people attending concerts.
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DF Concerts to reboot Connect festival
DF Concerts & Events is to revive Connect, a music festival that took place in Argyll, Scotland, in the mid-noughties.
The three-day festival was held in 2007 and 2008 on the grounds of Inveraray Castle and featured headliners including Beastie Boys, Björk and Franz Ferdinand.
The Scottish promoter says Connect 2022 is “an entirely new festival experience but retains many of the qualities of its namesake from 2007 & 2008”.
Connect 2022 is “an entirely new festival experience but retains many of the qualities of its namesake from 2007 & 2008”
The festival is slated to take place between 26–28 August 2022 but its line-up and location are yet to be announced.
DF says it will feature “the best in leftfield talent from grassroots through to the biggest names in the world”.
“There will be a plethora of bands, DJs, artists, performers, comedians, jesters, visual arts and installations that will be keeping you amused throughout the weekend as well as culinary delights and crafted drinks from local artisans,” reads a statement from the promoter. More information about Connect 2022 will be announced soon.
DF Concerts’ stable of events already includes Summer Sessions and TRNSMT, which will return to Glasgow Green in 2022 with headliners Paolo Nutini, The Strokes and Lewis Capaldi.
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Scotland’s TRNSMT festival permitted to go ahead
Scotland’s biggest music festival, Glasgow’s Trnsmt, has been permitted to go ahead this September with up to 50,000 non-socially distanced fans per day.
The festival has been awarded the status of ‘gateway event’ by the Scottish government because of its place as ‘an internationally significant flagship event’.
This status exempts Trnsmt from the current 5,000-person capacity limit on outdoor events.
The three-day music festival will take place at Glasgow Green between 10–12 September with headliners Courteeners, Liam Gallagher and The Chemical Brothers.
The festival, which would usually take place with up to 150,000 people in July, has not been held since 2019. The 2020 event was cancelled in April last year, a month after the first Covid lockdown was announced.
“I’m delighted to confirm that Trnsmt has been given approval to take place this year due to its status as a gateway event”
This year, promoter DF concerts is working with the Scottish government and Glasgow City Council to deliver the event.
Geoff Ellis, chief executive at Trnsmt and CEO at DF Concerts, says: “I’m delighted to confirm that cinch presents Trnsmt has been given approval to take place this year due to its status as a gateway event, with permission to host up to 50,000 fans per day over the weekend of 10–12 September. We’re looking forward to working in partnership with the Scottish government and Glasgow City Council in delivering the festival.”
The news comes after the first minister announced on Tuesday (3 August) that most Covid restrictions would be lifted from Monday 9 August.
Capacity limits of 2,000 people indoors and 5,000 people outdoors will remain in place beyond Monday although some exceptions may be possible on a case by case basis.
“This will allow us and local authorities to be assured of the arrangements in place to reduce risk,” the Scottish government said in a statement.
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Scottish industry slams gov’s reopening roadmap
The Scottish live industry has dubbed the government’s roadmap out of lockdown ‘meaningless’ and ‘vague’ for the return of live entertainment.
According to the NME, the government has confirmed that from 17 May, socially distanced indoor performances will be allowed to take place with up to 100 attendees while outdoor events and festivals can welcome up to 500 people.
The next phase of reopening will commence in early June when those numbers will hopefully increase to 200 people for indoor venues and 1,000 for outdoor events.
“It’s currently meaningless for the viability of live entertainment in Scotland”
By the end of June, it is hoped that event organisers will be able to host events for up to 400 indoors and 2000 outdoors – although higher capacities will be open to negotiation.
Sturgeon has not yet disclosed a provisional date for the ending of social distancing restrictions – while British prime minister Boris Johnson is poised to lift all restrictions by 21 June.
Commenting on the roadmap, Geoff Ellis, CEO of DF Concerts – Scotland’s biggest concert promoter and owner of King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut (cap. 300) in Glasgow – told IQ: “It’s currently meaningless for the viability of live entertainment in Scotland. A maximum of 100 people indoors and all physically distanced is under 20 people in King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut – to put it into context.
“The Scottish music industry remains closed and in a more precarious position than in England and Wales”
“We need Scottish government to give us a proper roadmap that goes beyond ‘level 0 by end of June’ as that still means physical distancing will be in place. However, based on common sense and logic arising from the progress being made in Scotland with both the suppression of the virus and the roll-out of the vaccine programme, I am very optimistic for shows without restrictions by the late summer – at the very latest in good time for our TRNSMT festival at full capacity.
“Meanwhile though, the Scottish music industry remains closed and in a more precarious position than its counterparts in England and Wales due to a lack of further committed funding from Scottish government.”
Donald MacLeod – MD of Holdfast Entertainment Group, promoter at CPL, and owner of Glasgow-based clubs The Garage and the Cathouse Rock Club – told IQ: “The latest ‘draft’ guidance from the Scottish government on social distancing for the hospitality sector is as clear as mud, and a cut and paste socially distanced shambles.
“The latest ‘draft’ guidance on social distancing for the hospitality sector is as clear as mud”
“It is obvious that whoever drafted them has not one scintilla of business sense or an ounce of care for the sector, whose operators are desperate and struggling to make ends meet in these exacting times. For venue owners, promoters, managers, bands and of course Scotland’s battalions of live music fans, with the Scottish government still not committing or even discussing with the sector indictive re-opening dates, pilot test events, and contemptuously refusing to include them in the strategic opening Tier Levels, I fear the worst. This is not a roadmap to recovery but an industry car crash.
“Now that we have the vaccine, the peddling of fear and caution from the government and their army of health advisors must stop and replaced with a concerted and confident drive back to normality, otherwise Scotland’s hospitality and live music industries will become a cultural wasteland.”
The uncertainty surrounding the potential Covid restrictions that may be in place in summer has already caused a number of major Scottish festivals to cancel, including The Belladrum Tartan Heart (July) and Glasgow’s Summer Nights (July/August).
However, DF Concerts is set to go ahead with TRNSMT between 10–12 September on Glasgow Green with headliners Courteeners, Liam Gallagher and The Chemical Brothers, as well as Edinburgh’s Summer Sessions in early August with headliners DMAs, Tom Jones, Anne-Marie and Travis.
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No date for return of live entertainment in Scotland
Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon declined to set a date for the return of non-socially distanced live entertainment in her rival ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown, presented today (16 March).
Unlike south of the border, where British prime minister Boris Johnson (the de facto leader of England, the UK’s biggest nation not having its own devolved administration) has set 21 June as the provisional date for a return to normality, Sturgeon said that while it is possible Scotland could be at ‘level zero’ (little or no restrictions) by the end of June, “it is not possible to provide specific dates or details” that far ahead.
Under the first minister’s timetable, stay-at-home (lockdown) orders will be lifted on 2 April, with other services, including hairdressers and garden centres, able to open from 5 April. Further easing expected on 26 April includes allowing people to socialise outside and hospitality businesses to reopen outdoors for alcohol service, and “potentially” indoors for non-alcoholic drinks and food.
From 17 May, it is hoped “small-scale”, capacity-limited events, both indoor and outdoor, will be able to resume, pending the successful continuation of the UK’s vaccine roll-out.
“I do believe that over the coming weeks as more and more adults are vaccinated it will be possible to set a firmer date”
“It is not possible to provide specific dates or details for coming out of lockdown beyond 17 May – that will depend on what impact there is from the changes already made,” said Sturgeon. “However, my hope and ambition is that from early June, all of Scotland will effectively be in level one of the levels system, allowing for a further easing of restrictions – and possibly moving to level zero in late June.”
Level zero, said Sturgeon (pictured), would include “many of the things that we took for granted before the pandemic: normal family gatherings where we can hug our loved ones, sporting events, gigs and nightclubs. I cannot set a date for that point yet, but I do believe that over the coming weeks as more and more adults are vaccinated it will be possible to set a firmer date by which many of these normal things will be possible, and I am very optimistic that this date will be over the summer.
“Thanks to the sacrifices we all made three months ago, and the success of the vaccination programme, we are now in a much better and brighter position, with well-earned optimism as we look ahead to the summer. We are getting the virus under control, but it is still dangerous, and to reach these dates it’s more important than ever now to stay within the rules.”
At press time, Scottish music festivals such as Eden Festival (10–13 June), Trnsmt (9–11 July), Belladrum (29–31 July) are still planning for a return this summer.
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