Virgin Money Unity Arena
photo via engineno4

Here's what a show at the UK's first "dedicated socially distanced" venue looks like

The UK’s first “dedicated socially distanced music venue,” Virgin Money Unity Arena in Gosforth Park, Newcastle, held its first show on Tuesday (8/11) night. British artist Sam Fender performed to a crowd of around 2500 attendees, separated into small groups in individually barricaded viewing spaces. You can see what it all looked like, and read some attendee reactions, in the Instagram and Twitter posts below.

The UK also began trying out socially distanced indoor shows, starting with this Frank Turner gig. Organizers said it wasn’t a success, though; with attendance capped at not even 20% of the venue’s capacity, it’s “not a financial model that the industry can remotely rely upon to get to be sustainable,” they said.

Meanwhile, in the US, some recent shows — including ones with Yo La Tengo and Richard Thompson — have adhered to social distancing guidelines, while others have appeared to be too crowded with not enough people appearing to be wearing masks, like Smash Mouth, Trapt, The Chainsmokers, and Great White.

https://twitter.com/_BrianHam/status/1293250478214656002
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDzA2dSnzWp/

https://twitter.com/alishamhenry/status/1293315094034747401

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDzBHbZDBDt/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDzBW1DFrQA/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDyLgmXgVd7/