Organisers of Broiler’s concert at Oslo’s Unity Arena have hailed “a big day for Norwegian music” after the electronic music duo made history by selling out the 25,000-cap show in less than eight minutes.

Broiler performed at the venue on 1 March in a gig staged by Oslo and Fredrikstad-based independent music management, record label and promoter Sky Agency.

The agency’s co-founder Trond Opsahl has represented the Drammen-hailing pair since the early 2010s, growing the act from club shows to festival headliners.

“We put a tour on sale last year and sold out around Norway,” Opsahl tells IQ. “Then we sold out Oslo Spektrum – 10,000 tickets – so we decided to put on a big show in Unity Arena and they sold 25,000 tickets in less than eight minutes.

“It was a big day for Norwegian music. No domestic artist had completely sold out the venue before and even international artists aren’t used to selling it out – especially not in eight minutes. We were hoping for it, of course, but we can’t say that we expected it.”

A record producer and DJ duo comprising Mikkel Christiansen and Simen Auke, Broiler achieved international recognition with their 2014 track Wild Eyes and 2015 remix of the Imagine Dragons hit, Shots. They have also played slots at prestigious European festivals such as Belgium’s Tomorrowland and Sweden’s Summerburst.

“Broiler have been around for a long time and mean a lot to their generation, but we can also see that we are building new fans”

“In the last few years, we’ve focused on the Norwegian market and have released local language music,” explains Opsahl. “Broiler have been around for a long time and mean a lot to their generation, but we can also see that we are building new fans. Their audience is from 16 to 30-plus, and they deliver an amazing live show. The venue even said that it was one of the most successful events they held.

“We’re taking some time to digest and smile about what was basically a dream come true, but we want to keep exploring opportunities. After the show, quite a few promoters have been reaching out to us about wanting to work with the act, and now we’re just lining up what we should do outside of Norway as well, so it’s pretty exciting.”

Opsahl, who works alongside former Live Nation and Global Live touring executive Sam Bush at Sky Agency, also shares his high hopes for another of their clients, rising Norwegian hip-hop trio Roc Boyz.

“They are really popular in Sweden and Norway and are now selling out big club shows,” he says. “We have quite a few festival plays this summer, both in Sweden and Norway, so they’re our next big project.”

Sky Agency also promotes and co-promotes domestic festivals such as Stavern, Idyll, Festningen, Utopia, Feelings, Rakettnatt, Sommerfest and Bykalas.

“I think the Norwegian market is picking a little bit up,” adds Opsahl. “It’s still a tough market for festivals, but people are definitely interested in seeing shows.”

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Norway’s largest multi-purpose indoor arena has unveiled several improvements to enhance the concert experience at the venue.

The newly renamed Unity Arena (formerly Telenor Arena) in Fornebu can now be adapted for concerts from 5,000 to 25,000 visitors and can be divided into three sizes.

The smallest box can hold 5,000-10,000 attendees, the middle bowl can hold 10,000-16,000, and the largest arena can house between 16,000-25,000.

Sound improvements have also been made by Vanguardia, a leading company in arena acoustics whose clients include the Sphere in Las Vegas.

“Extensive 3D acoustic testing has been completed, along with a detailed modelling of the arena,” says Jim Griffiths, director of Vanguardia.

“This gives a concrete overview of improvements to the sound quality during concerts in all stage configurations. In addition, a detailed sound guide will be available to help the production’s sound configuration, so that the sound image is as optimal as possible.”

Other improvements include expanded capacity in the bars and kiosks, a new and wider food menu and an extended Premium offering.

“With the measures that have been taken in the arena, we look forward to an exciting time with many and varied concerts”

The improvements come ahead of a busy 2025 for the venue, which includes concerts from Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter and One Republic.

Unity will also host shows transferred from Oslo’s Spektrum Arena when it closes for renovations and a 14-month rebuild next summer.

“With the measures that have been taken in the arena, we look forward to an exciting time with many and varied concerts at Unity Arena,” says head promoter of Live Nation Norway, Martin Nielsen. “We are confident that the steps taken with the scaling, the soundscape and the catering will make the arena perfect for smaller concerts as well.”

The improvements come ahead of a massive transformation for the venue, which will see it close at the end of 2026 and reopen in 2029 as a new, “more compact” venue, created at the heart of a new urban centre featuring urban spaces; a cinema; cultural and catering facilities; hotels; and other activities.

The new arena project is being delivered in partnership with Oak View Group.

“OVG are very pleased to collaborate with the team at Unity Arena,” says president of OVG International, Jessica Koravos.

“The aim is to make the experience for the fans even better, now that they plan to welcome more guests than ever. OVG will support the delivery of successful events at the arena. We look forward to a hectic 2025 with many top international artists at Unity Arena.”

Unity Arena opened in 2009, with AC/DC becoming the first band to perform there. Since then, there have been an average of eight concerts per year from artists including The Rolling Stones, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Beyoncé, OneDirection, Madonna, Lady GaGa, Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen, Iron Maiden, Roger Waters and Jay Z.

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IQ presents the second part of our Norway market report, where we dig into their expansive festival sector and how professionals work around a lack of venues. Catch up on part one here.

Festivals
The extreme geographical disconnection between Norwegian cities is the secret behind the appeal of the country’s festivals, of which there are said to be around 400, many of them performing an important regional function.

“The festival market is huge in relation to the size of the country,” says Osmundsvaag. “There’s so many, and that goes back to the geography of Norway. You don’t just hop in your car and go to an event that is 100 or 200 miles away, because in Norway that’s eight hours with the fjords and the mountains. So, there’s a lot more regional festivals, because a lot of those regions are quite insular.”

A strong example of such a festival is the not-for-profit Parkenfestivalen in Bødo, high up on Norway’s west coast, just inside the Arctic Circle, which this year mixed Keane, Pixies, Sundfør, The Cardigans, and Detroit rapper Danny Brown with national and very local artists. As enticing as the bill sounds, festival manager Gøran Aamodt says the audience is mostly drawn from the surrounding region.

“Almost 90% [of the audience] live in Bodø, and the people travelling to the festival are often people coming back to their hometown to meet old friends and sing along to well-known songs. It ́s a tradition for most people. And to have a sold-out 10,500-capacity festival in a town with 50,000 people is quite special.”

In its own way, Bodø is typical of the industrious, self-entertaining rural Norwegian city, with the Bodø Jazz Open in February, Opptur for Gen Zs in July, the classical Nordland Musikkfestuke in August, and Parken in August – as well as several club venues and a concert house. Predictably, however, while demand for events remains strong, the financial balancing act this year has been a tough one.

“You can see the demographic of the place changing during these festivals to reflect the particular subculture”

“All cities from 10,000 and upwards have their own festival,” says Aamodt. “But Parken is a special case. We sell out the day we release our tickets – 10,500 festival passes in total. So, all in all, we had a good year in terms of selling tickets, but the costs have increased so much that even with a sold-out festival, we are depending on good weather to make it work.”

Pstereo in Trondheim is another key festival clinging hard to its local identity, which general manager Eirik Brevik summarises as local history, food, culture, art, and the constant emergence of young, local artists.

“Pstereo is one of the few remaining independent festivals of its size in Norway and is certainly feeling the market’s changes,” he says. “Faced with rising costs, currency fluctuations, and increasing competition from more commercial festivals, we’ve chosen to remain true to our identity. 2024 has been a particularly good year for us, and we see that as a validation that staying close to our roots is the right approach.”

Given the challenges of travel, Norway’s larger cities – specifically Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim – are typically the only ones that can sustain more specialist festivals, but the compact size of even these larger local markets offers an opportunity for immersive city events.

“It can make for very interesting festivals,” says Egenes. “You go to Bergen for Beyond The Gates if you are into extreme metal or Ekko if you like electronic music, and they bring talent from all over the world to quite a small city. You can see the demographic of the place changing during these festivals to reflect the particular subculture.”

Norway has for decades maintained a persistently thriving metal scene – particularly black and extreme, including Gorgoroth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, and the notorious Mayhem.

“We always try to deliver a little bit more than people expect, but we need to do that in a smart way”

Accordingly, Tons of Rock in Oslo, first staged in 2014 and acquired by Live Nation in 2019, has consistently beefed up in recent years to assume the mantle of Norway’s biggest festival, with a heavyweight lineup to match. Metallica, Tool, Judas Priest, Greta Van Fleet, and ZZ Top this year topped a bill that spanned the rock and metal spectrum, while domestic acts on the bill included Seigmen, Abbath, Satyricon, and rising stars Nova Twins and Skynd.

“It was a new milestone this year, we sold out almost all four days, almost 35,000 each day, so that’s 140,000 tickets,” says Nielsen. “And then you always have a few more when it comes to volunteers and partner tickets and guest artist tickets, comps, so I would guess that it was close to 150,000. There’s no festival close to it in Norway and definitely a new Norwegian record.”

Sky Festivals, part of Sky Agency, remains the biggest festival owner in Norway with ten events, including Oslo’s Findings (with Live Nation), the 18,000-cap Festningen in Trondheim, 12,000-cap Utopia in Stavanger, 10,000-cap Landstreff Fredriksten in Halden, and the 15,000-cap IDYLL in Fredrikstad.

“We feel lucky, because we have the most popular festivals in each city, so we are in a good position,” says Opsahl. Nonetheless, he says the year has been one of ups and downs as costs rose and the marketplace lost a little of its ticket-buying enthusiasm.

Sky’s 2021 acquisition, Stavernfestivalen, in the southern city of Larvik has historically drawn 80,000 over three days. But the festival was a four-dayer this year, and even with Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Burna Boy, and others on board, Opsahl concedes it was a day too many in a summer that saw a downturn in demand after two booming post-Covid years

“We made the decision to add a day quite early – even before the festival in 2023,” says Opsahl. “And putting an extra day in the market is something we wouldn’t do if we did it over again.”
Like many other festival promoters, he describes a careful balancing act between quality events and likely revenues, risk, and reward, and he expects 2025 to be every bit as challenging as 2024.

“We always try to deliver a little bit more than people expect, but we need to do that in a smart way; to look at everything, from marketing to partners to budgets and production, and make sure everything we do is cost-efficient,” he says. “We need to start a little bit from the beginning in some places, in terms of what should we put on and how much should we pay for artists. But we still need to make good events that people are happy with and want to come back again next year.”

“The festival model is tailored for this expansive country”

All Things Live’s festivals include Verket, Drøbakfestivalen, Hvalstrandfestivalen, Sarpsborgfestivalen, Lillehammer Live, and Haikjeften, with the aim of creating synergies across the network of events.

“The festival model is tailored for this expansive country,” says Mølleskog. “We collaborate with a team of local stakeholders and strong regional partners in each location to establish unique, community-focused festivals. However, all booking, programming, marketing, and project management are handled by our team. These festivals stimulate local business and help build enduring regional brands across the country.” She adds that All Things Live is open to new launches and collaborations.

A personal favourite among the group’s local festivals is Haikjeften (Shark Jaw) in Narvik, far up in the fjords, Mølleskog notes. “It’s a medium-sized festival that HES has built up, and the whole city gets involved, and it sells out months ahead every year. It creates a great atmosphere in the whole city.”

OverOslo, which takes place at Grefsenkollen, looking down on Oslo from the east, has steadily grown in the past few years, and now draws 8,000 a day over four days. That makes it one of Norway’s bigger crowd-pullers in terms of unique visitors, but it maintains its appeal as a boutique festival, both deliberately and as a consequence of its location.

“We are located on a hilltop, there’s one way up and down, so we do have some issues with big productions and the logistics around that, which limits us a bit,” says co-founder Lars Petter Fosdahl. Nonetheless, the Pet Shop Boys featured in 2022, Van Morrison and Sophie Ellis-Bextor in ’23, Jungle and Melanie C this year, even as the festival maintains an 80:20 split between Scandinavian and broader international names.

“The general development of the industry in Norway is that there aren’t too many indie festivals left that haven’t been bought up by international organisers,” says Fosdahl, who adds that he has no intention of selling out. “It has really been our baby since the beginning, so I think everyone involved here feels a special connection to what we have built.”

“While Oslo may feel more urban and international, Trondheim offers a stronger local identity”

PiPfest’s most recent edition took place in June, headed by Stormzy, Massive Attack, Tom Odell, and L’Impératrice. Its 8,000 capacity will rise to 12,000 next year, with the addition of a third stage. And while there is clearly demand for the right events, Osmundsvaag says promoters need to be extremely watchful as they allocate their resources.

“You have to recalibrate yourself almost on a daily basis,” he says. “And I think you have to be dynamic and proactive and just keep turning the stones and looking underneath, going, ‘Well, was that decision wise? Do we need to rethink that?’ We just need to be very aware of the environment we’re working in and just work harder, really, to bridge that gap of cost versus income.”

Splashing on mainstream talent, he suggests, increasingly looks like a risky and unreliable route to success. “Relying just on the headliners to define you is obviously the easy way out,” he says. “I’m focusing more and more on communicating that if you come to my event, you’re going to have a really good day, taste some really good food, meet some really interesting people, see some really good bands – maybe some bands you didn’t even know existed.”

Key Norwegian industry events include by:Larm in Oslo and the Trondheim Calling showcase festival, of which Brevik was until recently the CEO. “Trondheim Calling is, in my opinion, the showcase festival in Norway that best reflects the Norwegian market,” he says.

“Trondheim is a modern, vibrant student city, which gives the city a youthful and energetic atmosphere. While Oslo may feel more urban and international, Trondheim offers a stronger local identity, closely connected to nature. The fjords, mountains, and its thriving tech scene give the city a distinct role in the broader Norwegian context.”

“We also still miss a national stadium for concerts and events, and that’s what the big acts request these days”

Venues
It is hard to find anyone who is fully satisfied with Norway’s range of larger venues, amid grumbles about the shortage of available outdoor spaces and the lack of options in Oslo between club and arena level.

Oslo’s Spektrum Arena, Norway’s major arena for visiting and domestic artists, is closing for renovations and a 14-month rebuild next summer. Shows will be shifted to the 25,000-cap Unity Arena, previously the Telenor Arena, with Broiler, Simply Red, Billie Eilish, and The Offspring all booked in for 2025, amid horse shows and handball championships.

“It’s a larger arena but not as centrally located, so it will be very interesting to see how this will impact arena touring in Norway,” says Pride at FKP.

Given the emphasis on blockbuster outdoor events, there is an ongoing demand for public spaces, which the city of Oslo is not always willing to indulge.

“There is a big issue in Oslo when it comes to concerts not getting enough focus,” says Nielsen. “We almost had to beg them to get a second night at Voldsløkka to do Bruce Springsteen last year. There are two or three promoters waiting on answers for an outdoor venue where you can hold 15 to 20,000 people, and there’s currently no options. We also still miss a national stadium for concerts and events, and that’s what the big acts request these days. So yeah, it’s a bit tough.”

Among the possibilities is Bjerke Travbane in northeastern Oslo – the harness-racing track where Rammstein played Norway’s biggest show. “The city has gone in with some money now to facilitate asphalt, power etc, trying to make that into a workable concert arena for promoters. We have to go through the costs again when everything is finalised, but so far, I see it as a venue for acts planning to sell at least 30,000 tickets or more.”

“There’s so much going on – almost too much”

Osmundsvaag prides himself on his ability to scope out untried new sites. “I’ve always enjoyed finding new parks and new areas,” he says. “I’ve just found a new one, actually, this summer [Torshovdalen, site of the Klovner I Kamp show]. It actually amazes me that people can’t be bothered to do the work; they just complain there’s nowhere to put on shows. Well, put the hours in, go and find an opportunity.”

He goes to his window and points to the city park, Sofienbergparken, across the road from his office. “I’m actually sat right next to a park now where everyone told me, ‘No, that’s never going to work,’ and that’s where we do PiPfest. You can see where I got the council to put the land power in.”

It is not only in Oslo that promoters are calling for more options for bigger shows, especially given the distinctly seasonal appeal of outdoor areas. Springsteen’s Bergen show was the first to be staged at the city’s cargo port, known fairly literally as Dokken.

“We have a great open-air arena of up to 23,000 cap at Bergenhus Fortress in the city centre – we are the licence holder,” Bergen Live managing director Frank Nes told IQ’s forthcoming Global Promoters Report. “But the need for bigger capacities, and a modern indoor arena, is definitely a major factor if we are to be able to compete with other cities.”

At club level, things are typically pretty good in larger Norwegian cities, but Oslo is particularly blessed. Auditorium AS operates three key venues – the 1,300-cap Rockefeller, the smaller 500-cap basement room John Dee, and the 1,750-cap Sentrum Scene, staging scores of Norwegian and international shows.

Formerly one of the oldest cinemas in Europe, the 117-year-old Parkteatret is now a 500-capacity music venue with a constant stream of local and international gigs. By:Larm uses venues including the 400-cap Blå, the smaller Himmel room upstairs, 150-cap dive bar Revolver, and the 950-cap Vulkan Arena.

“If you go to concerts between 100 and 500 capacity in Oslo, it’s fantastic,” says Egenes. “There’s so much going on – almost too much.”

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The final shows at the UK’s socially distanced Unity Arena will no longer be able ahead after the government announced new lockdown restrictions in north-east England.

Promoter SSD Concerts confirmed today (17 September) that shows by Jack Savoretti (Friday 18 September), Kaiser Chiefs (Saturday 19 September) and Declan McKenna (Sunday 20 September), as well as 19 September’s Bongo’s Bingo event, have been called off. Tonight’s Chase & Status show will go ahead as planned.

Since opening its doors in August, Unity Arena has hosted the UK’s only major live shows since March, welcoming more than 50,000 fans in total and employing over 200 staff and crew.

Jim McGee of Engine No.4, the production company behind the venue, told IQ last month that he’s proud to have been involved in its creation, noting that the open-air venue – which separates fans with a 2m gap between viewing areas – could be used as a model while social distancing is necessary. “A lot of hoops have had to be jumped through to make this work, and it isn’t particularly economically sustainable, but what we’ve managed to create could be used as a model going forwards,” he explained.

The perfect storm: Inside the UK’s only live shows

Since launching, Unity Arena has welcomed performers including Van Morrison, Sam Fender, the Libertines, Supergrass, Ronan Keating and comedian Jimmy Carr.

Commenting on the early closure of the venue, SSD’s Steve Davis says: “It is extremely disappointing to have to cancel these final shows at the end of what has been an incredible six week run of successfully socially distanced concerts. We’re honoured to have been able to provide a little happiness and joy to thousands of music and comedy fans throughout the region and the UK, in what has been such a tough 2020 for everyone.

“We have complied with all government guidance to ensure the safety and enjoyment of our audience, artists and crew throughout. We’d like to thank all who attended these genuinely heartwarming and uplifting events. For the last six weeks, Newcastle has been the leading light for the live music industry and for that, we should all be very proud.

We’d like to thank all who attended these genuinely heartwarming and uplifting events

“Unfortunately, due to the rise in infections in the north east, we must comply with the council’s and the government’s latest advice. This should not take away from the fact that the people of the north east and from all over the world have embraced this pioneering run of shows.

“On behalf of everyone involved – our sponsor, Virgin Money; Newcastle City Council; the dedicated crew and staff who have worked so hard to make this a success – again I thank you so much. Sadly, the new lockdown measures will bring an end to our run, but the safety and the wellbeing of the people of the north east is our prime and utmost concern.”

As of this evening, the north-east of England – Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, Gateshead, Northumberland, South Tyneside and County Durham – is subject to new restrictions, including a 10pm curfew, to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

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This summer’s events and festivals may have been largely wiped out due to the ongoing pandemic, but live event organisers are determined to return to some kind of normality.

With large-scale event bans due to lift before the winter, the live music industry is daring to plan for the future – but at what cost?

Organisers are still reeling from the economic impact of this year’s cancellations, and few are willing or able to risk shows without cancellation insurance in place for Covid-19. Even with government go-ahead for venues to reopen, without insurance, the industry is at a standstill.

So what might live event insurance look like over the next 12 months? Insurers from two of the biggest global markets, the UK and the US, tell IQ why a government-backed insurance fund is needed (but problematic), what’s causing many underwriters to quit offering cancellation insurance, and how policies may change in the months ahead.

When it comes to insurance for future live music events, there’s only one question on the industry’s lips: When will insurers provide cancellation cover that includes Covid-19?

The answer is, according to brokers in the UK and the US, not any time soon – if at all.

The problem, as Steven Howell from Media Insurance Brokers (MIB) in the UK explains, is that it’s impossible for underwriters to put a price on Covid-19 cover while we’re still in the midst of the pandemic.

“It’s a bit like asking us to insure your house while your house is still on fire; it’s too late. You can only assess what the damage is and what repairs are needed once the fire is out. And once that happens, underwriters can assess the likelihood of that house burning down again and work out what premiums to charge you to cover it,” he says.

“Asking an underwriter to take a view on the likelihood of whether the government will impose a local lockdown, forcing the cancellation of an event, is impossible because no one knows. No one is in control of the infection rate and no one is in control of the government.” 

“You can only assess what the damage is and what repairs are needed once the fire is out”

However, it’s the authorities that the industry is turning to for support. When the UK government announced its £500 million scheme to kickstart film and television productions struggling to secure insurance for Covid-related costs, there was a question of whether the live music industry might receive the same.

The programme will support productions if future losses are incurred due to Covid and fill the gap left by the lack of available insurance and cover coronavirus-related disruptions, such as delays in filming caused by unwell staff.

A proposal is currently being worked on by entertainment and sports broker Tysers in partnership with the UK’s various industry associations, though no details have yet been released. One of the difficulties, as Martin Goebbels from Miller Insurance points out, is that live music events present an entirely different set of variables from that of TV and film productions.

“Productions are behind closed doors, in more contained environments, and generally can be far more easily controlled and contained. The problem for live music events is the audience and everything that comes with that, such as public transport and having large crowds in any restricted area, whether it be the actual venue or extra numbers arriving in a town,” he says.

So far, only one arena in the UK has risked staging events with the possibility that the government could enforce a local lockdown at any time, forcing the organisers to cancel.

Howell at MIB insured the UK’s only major summer concert series of 2020 at the country’s first socially distanced arena, Newcastle’s Virgin Money Unity Arena.

“Insurers might need to be prepared to cover certain losses not contemplated as part of coverage offered today”

While MIB couldn’t provide cancellation cover which includes a Covid-19 extension, it could provide public liability cover, in case anyone gets ill or contracts the virus at the event and tries to sue the event organiser.

“In order to ensure there was no exclusion for coronavirus added to the public liability policy we needed to review the organisers risk assessments and Covid-19 protocols to make sure they are adhering to latest advice and minimising risk of catching or spreading the disease,” says Howell. 

The organisers have said that they were keeping “one eye on government legislation,” hoping there wouldn’t be any major changes or a local lockdown that would put the series into jeopardy. 

So what are the possible solutions that would give event organisers the confidence to start planning for next year and committing costs?

One suggestion from Howell is to increase the tax on insurance premiums, in line with VAT, and reserve the excess for cancellation cover.

“Most people are used to paying 20% VAT. On insurance, you pay 12% so even if you increase it to 15 and siphoned off that 3%, it would create a pot of money through insurance that is available to bail out in case of cancellation.

“It’s similar to what the US did after 9/11 when they increased premiums and siphoned off a small percentage in case your business or event gets affected by terrorism,” says Howell. 

“Once live events do come back, there will be an adjustment period for those who wish to put on the shows and those who wish to insure them”

Carol Thornhill from Epic Brokers in the US also cited the terrorism pot as a possible solution, but says in the current political climate she doesn’t necessarily see it happening.

“We do have some clients that are actually working in venues with proper social distancing protocols, in the hopes that the state stays open.

“A lot of states like Florida and Tennessee are a little bit more relaxed than others and so they’re really not shutting down promoters and events much at this point,” she says.

Any changes to insurance policy in the US is much further down the line, as underwriters have to go through a state filing process, which Tim Thornhill of UK-based Tysers says is more of a lengthy procedure.

Scott Carroll from Take1 Insurance in the US says he imagines adjustments to the Covid-related insurance cover would take into account factors such as the venue’s protocols for sanitisation; food service; public toilets; adherence to Centers for Disease Control guidelines; and duty of care.

“The insurers might need to be prepared to cover certain losses not contemplated as part of coverage offered today. Once live events do come back, there will be an adjustment period for those who wish to put on the shows and those who wish to insure them,” he says.

Another change coming in both the UK and the US is an increase in premiums. In the UK, that increase is down to lack of capacity in the insurance market and a higher demand, according to Howell.

“Travel insurance is likely to increase as well, which may have a small effect on future tour budgets”

“Lots of underwriters we used have quit,” says Howell. “They’ve said, ‘we’ve lost so much money in this first wave of cancellations that we’re not going to write contingency or cancellation for the foreseeable future,’ and closed their books.” 

This means that the remaining underwriters will be looking to claw back some premium by charging higher rates.

Tysers has been more fortunate with business during Covid-19 and was able to pay out on cover in many instances, says Thornhill.

“In relation to non-appearance policies, our wording, drafted in the time of [predecessor companies] Robertson Taylor and later Integro allowed most of our clients the opportunity to successfully lodge claims,” he explains.

“It was significantly different to the standard Lloyd’s wording used by others, as our communicable disease [CD] exclusion was limited to a number of named diseases. Covid-19 was not one of those and consequently we were able to confirm fairly quickly that coverage operated as opposed to the blanket CD exclusion offered elsewhere.”

Goebbels points out that Covid’s effect on the insurance industry will have other knock-on effects in other ways too.

“Travel insurance is likely to increase as well, due to massive losses in recent months, but at present we do not know by how much, as touring is not happening,” he says. “That may have a small effect on future tour budgets, but it is too early to say.” 

With insurance a key consideration for festival season 2021, the topic will be discussed in more depth at next week’s Interactive Festival Forum, with Thornhill and Howell among the experts speaking as part of the Insurance & Covid-19 workshop.

Register for iFF 2021 here.

This article forms part of IQ’s Covid-19 resource centre – a knowledge hub of essential guidance and updating resources for uncertain times.

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UK promoter SSD Concerts has announced the opening line-up for its new Unity Arena near Newcastle.

The 2,500-capacity venue – the first of its kind – ensures social distancing with a “parking-to-platform” system that sees concertgoers arrive by car and then proceed to a dedicated viewing platform located at least 2m from other viewing areas.

Unity Arena will open on 14 August with a DJ set by broadcaster Craig Charles, with the first live concert performance coming courtesy of Two Door Cinema Club the following night.

They are followed Supergrass on Saturday 22 August, Tom Grennan on Thursday 27 August, the Libertines on Saturday 29 August and Maximo Park on Saturday 5 September.

“We’re excited to be working with artists who have the same desire to make something happen during difficult times”

The first slate of programming also includes three comedy performances, from Jason Manford on 30 August and Bill Bailey on both 1 and 2 September.

Steve Davis of SSD Concerts, which – backed by sponsor Virgin Money and production company Engine No 4, is the driving force behind the arena – comments: “We’re excited to be working with artists who have the same desire to make something happen during difficult times for the industry and the general public.

“The rock’n’roll, can-do attitude of the artists performing and the team behind Virgin Money Unity Arena will make these shows ones to remember for the rest of our lives.

“We were determined to make this special, and hopefully today’s line-up is a strong statement of intent. We’re not finished yet and we’ll be announcing yet more acts soon.”

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A new outdoor venue, billed as the UK’s first dedicated socially distanced music venue, will launch in Newcastle, in the north-east of England, this summer.

Unity Arena, sponsored by Virgin Money, will be located at Newcastle Racecourse in Gosforth Park, around four miles from Newcastle city centre, and open soon after its first line-up announcement on Tuesday 7 July.

The venue, the brainchild of regional promoter SSD Concerts, will be built in partnership with production company Engine No 4 (Parklife, Kendal Calling). SSD, the organiser of This is Tomorrow festival, promises a completely socially distanced “parking-to-platform experience” offering “full safety” for concertgoers.

Punters will stand on viewing platforms placed two metres apart, with food and drinks available for preorder. A one-way system, meanwhile, will allow for the “safe and full use” of toilet facilities.

Unity Arena will have a capacity of 2,500, a spokesperson tells IQ, with organisers promising a “festival experience” with “full production”.

“This feels like a unique opportunity to celebrate music and all the wonderful emotions that come with it”

Steve Davis, managing director of SSD, says: “Since all of our scheduled concerts have been postponed to later in the year and all venues in the city closed, the staff at SSD had a willingness to continue.

“We can’t be without music during these times, so our only thought has been how can we bring music back to the British public safely and responsibly.

“We have been hosting loads of live sessions and DJ sets across our social media, supporting local artists and raising money for the NHS. Now, we’re taking it one step further as the UK slowly comes out of lockdown.

“Working with our brand new partner Virgin Money has been exciting, and we think, even in these hard times, the people of the north east will come out in their thousands to see the artists they love.”

Helen Page, group brand and marketing director of Virgin Money, adds: “This feels like a unique opportunity to celebrate music and all the wonderful emotions that come with experiencing it live alongside other music fans. We’re looking forward to partnering with the Unity Arena on this event near to our Virgin Money home in Gosforth.”

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