Questions about COVID in combination with FESTIVAL!

[Quark]

Hello all,

I am sure, no one has lived under a rock lately. We all are aware of the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV 2) virus, that's apreading all around the world.

This thread is for all questions regarding preparations around the FESTIVAL, in combination with COVID-19. It is NOT open for discussions about the virus itself. That's too complicated amyway, as we all live in different countries, with different laws and measures.

To help you ahead, I took the liberty of copying 4 posts from another thread.

Hi! I have a question. Is there any exact information on whether there will be a festival this year? I have to prepare as soon as possible to be less costly, because euro currency is very expensive in the country where I live. In addition, I should do my planning as soon as possible.

The course of the corona virus makes everyone doubt whether this festival will be held or not. Wacken officials should make a statement about the state of affairs.

I don't think anybody can give you any guarantees at the moment.

Of course, nobody can give a guarantee on this issue. I mean, wouldn't it be right to make an announcement from wacken official about this? People should start planning because people from all over the world are waiting for this festival. If there is a possibility that this festival will be postponed because of the corona, I think it should have been canceled well in advance. If they have any other plans, they should say it right away.

No one knows.
They are preparing. But not as if nothing happened.
However, it all depends on the situation at that time, vaccines or not, travel restrictions etc. It is now, for instance, not allowed to enter the EU, except for strictly necessary travels.

So any question, regarding Wacken Open Air and COVID are welcome here. ANY other discussion about COVID will be deleted here, unless it could be relevant for this discussion! (e.g. travel ban into the EU, due to COVID)

So far, Wacken is organising, not as if nothing happened, but as if it were to take place in August.
Nothing else so far is known.
3 Vaccines have seen the light of day so far in Europe, 2 of them within the EU. (which is of course the most important place to look at, since Germany is part of that very EU) A 3rd one is on its way.

Conspiracy theories are forbidden here! If you like those ideas, go to another platform, no space for them here. Stick to the facts, as stated by e.g. the Robert Koch Institut (www.rki.de), RIVM in NL (www.rivm.nl), Johns Hopkins Institute (www.coronavirus.jhu.edu) etc.
And furthermore, keep an eye on your own government's website for the coronavirus! (I only know 3 of them, all in the Benelux, but you know where to look )


Edit Piaf zegt: I do NOT want to kill any discussion about COVID-19! But please, do it in the "normal" threads. (The Hot Tub for instance.)

 

[Quark]

(and my hope is, that this thread can be deleted quickly, rather yesterday, than tomorrow!)

 

[Alix]

Hi! I have a question. Is there any exact information on whether there will be a festival this year? I have to prepare as soon as possible to be less costly, because euro currency is very expensive in the country where I live. In addition, I should do my planning as soon as possible.

The course of the corona virus makes everyone doubt whether this festival will be held or not. Wacken officials should make a statement about the state of affairs.

It's way too early to tell. They're not going to cancel or postpone until the government says they have to, and that's the same with all events, everywhere. I'm led to believe there are huge costs involved with cancelling an event like this without strict instruction to do so, i.e. it's not just a case of giving everyone their ticket money back. Realistically speaking, don't make any non-refundable purchases until at least a few months before the festival is due to start. In the meantime, keep an eye on the exchange rate, get your camping gear ready, make sure your passport is valid, and maybe book some accommodation with free cancellation. I know flights are cheaper the earlier you book them, but the way things have been going this last year I wouldn't jump the gun; it's going to be a nightmare trying to get your money back.

 

[cxm]

Thanks to Quark for creating this topic.

It's way too early to tell. They're not going to cancel or postpone until the government says they have to, and that's the same with all events, everywhere. I'm led to believe there are huge costs involved with cancelling an event like this without strict instruction to do so, i.e. it's not just a case of giving everyone their ticket money back. Realistically speaking, don't make any non-refundable purchases until at least a few months before the festival is due to start. In the meantime, keep an eye on the exchange rate, get your camping gear ready, make sure your passport is valid, and maybe book some accommodation with free cancellation. I know flights are cheaper the earlier you book them, but the way things have been going this last year I wouldn't jump the gun; it's going to be a nightmare trying to get your money back.

You are so right. It seems W: O: A will take great risks. And people too.. I hope everything will be better.

Actually, maybe it would have been a better idea if W: O: A hadn't planned to hold the festival this year.. Perhaps it would be the best option not to organize the festival instead of everything being so uncertain. However, this could mean an economic crisis for W: O: A.

 

[cxm]

(and my hope is, that this thread can be deleted quickly, rather yesterday, than tomorrow!)

I hope so..

 

[Hemmer]

While I agree the uncertainty of not knowing if it will happen this year is super uncomfortable, especially for those of us with long journeys, we still don't know what is going to happen. For those of us outside the EU we not only need to keep an eye on EU regulations for travel but also our respective countries. For this of us here in the States we'll need to monitor the CDC and State Department for guidance.

If last year were any indicator of what will happen I looked at three festivals as a litmus test; Download, Hellfest, and RaR and RiP. If those three cancel I cannot see how WOA will go on. I believe those were called in April or May if memory serves me correctly.

Here in the States the vaccine rollout has been hampered. Hopefully with Biden coming in we can turn this around.

Point is hopefully decisions will become clearer sooner for us traveling in from outside the EU.

 

[Quark]

While I agree the uncertainty of not knowing if it will happen this year is super uncomfortable, especially for those of us with long journeys, we still don't know what is going to happen. For those of us outside the EU we not only need to keep an eye on EU regulations for travel but also our respective countries. For this of us here in the States we'll need to monitor the CDC and State Department for guidance.

If last year were any indicator of what will happen I looked at three festivals as a litmus test; Download, Hellfest, and RaR and RiP. If those three cancel I cannot see how WOA will go on. I believe those were called in April or May if memory serves me correctly.

Here in the States the vaccine rollout has been hampered. Hopefully with Biden coming in we can turn this around.

Point is hopefully decisions will become clearer sooner for us traveling in from outside the EU.

For Graspop, a decision will be made mid March.
Hellfest has written a letter to the Secretary of Culture in France, to know what can/has to happen! But as we all know, France reacts slowly.

And I reckon, this goes for all governments.

We'll just have to wait.

 

[evileggplant]

Has there been any updates on Wacken 2021? The vaccine roll out in the EU has been a bit of a mess and I'm a bit worried about entry restrictions.

 

[agresionpower]

Has there been any updates on Wacken 2021? The vaccine roll out in the EU has been a bit of a mess and I'm a bit worried about entry restrictions.

no news as far as I know.
Since there doesn't really seem to be any news, not about the cancellation or about new bands etc. I guess changes are high that it will be cancelled again.

I also read that a couple of other big festivals got cancelled in Germany. But I think those were scheduled for June.

I think for the time being you should hope for the best but expect the worst.

 

[Hemmer]

no news as far as I know.
Since there doesn't really seem to be any news, not about the cancellation or about new bands etc. I guess changes are high that it will be cancelled again.

I also read that a couple of other big festivals got cancelled in Germany. But I think those were scheduled for June.

I think for the time being you should hope for the best but expect the worst.

I think that is an important thing you bring up; no new band announcements since advent or metal battle advertisements or any other news on preparations. At least by now there would've been some announcements or some info on other activities.

If Jasper is reading this; are you able to address the status on new band announcements or other activities?

 

[Quark]

Has there been any updates on Wacken 2021? The vaccine roll out in the EU has been a bit of a mess and I'm a bit worried about entry restrictions.

Yes and no!
This is from a German thread, about the coronavirus.
The question was the very same, this was the answer (in German):

Auch das ist schwer zu sagen. Es gibt ja nicht nur die Optionen "ja" und "nein". Was ist, wenn wir durchführen dürfen, aber die Hälfte der Bands nicht mehr kommen kann, weil die anderen Events und damit die Touren wegfallen? Oder wenn wir veranstalten dürfen, aber nur Europäer kommen dürfen? Oder maximal 30.000 Leute? Auch haben wir keine Ahnung, was ein etwaiges Hygienekonzept für Anforderungen erfüllen muss. Alls das wirkt sich aber natürlich auf die notwendige Vorbereitungszeit aus.

Alles was weiter von einem normalen W:O:A entfernt ist, bedarf erst einmal mehr Vorbereitung als das gelernte Festival. Es sei denn, die Auflagen simplifizieren es so sehr, dass der Aufwand generell sinkt. Aber ob man es dann überhaupt macht...

Ich will jetzt auch keine Diskussion anfangen ala "W:O:A mit 30.000 Besuchern" - das ist Sprengstoff aller erster Güte, alleine wie man die Auswahl trifft und ob man das als Veranstalter und Fan überhaupt will. Auch da gilt eben, dass wir erst darüber sprechen können, wenn wir dazu ermächtigt werden. Vorher ist es Kaffeesatzleserei. Im Endeffekt wie im letzten Jahr.

Meine persönliche Deadline war irgendwann vor 4 Monaten, seitdem fahre ich auf Reserve.

Which translates a bit like:
That's difficult to say. It's not just the options "yes" or "no". What happens, when we can continue, but bands have to cancel, due to interrupted tours, or cancellations of other events? Or we can organise, but only Europeans are allowed to come? Or with maximum 30,000 people?
Furthermore, we have no idea about how an eventual hygene concept would be like, or what the minimum conditions will be! It all plays a significant role with the time of preparation of the festival!

Everything that is far from a regular festival, needs more preparations as the usual festival. That is, the measures are going to be less complicated as predicted, so that there are less obstructions. But if it will be done then...

I do not want to start a discussion, like "W:O:A with only 30,000 visitors" - that is oil on the fire! Just imagine, the choice of who can and who cannot go, and if one does want this as both organisation as well as a fan! Here goes the same, we can only talk about it, as soon as we have the autorisation. Before this, it's all in the stars. In the end, it could end up like last year.

My personal deadline was about 4 months ago. I've been on my reserve ever since.
(posted: Wednesday - 16:28/4:28pm CET/UTC+1)

So, that's all I got right now.

 

[evileggplant]

This is all super helpful. Thank You! It seems like they are facing the same issues that ultimately postponed HellFest. Oh, Graspop has postponed as well...

 

[Quark]

This is all super helpful. Thank You! It seems like they are facing the same issues that ultimately postponed HellFest. Oh, Graspop has postponed as well...

But there is ONE major difference between Hellfest's and Graspop's cancellation!
Hellfest had a meeting with France's ministre of culture, and they could NOT agree on the organisation. France allowes 5,000 people, safe distance, SEATED, and masked, whereas HF did NOT want this option. (roughly 100k tics sold, weekend as well as day tickets, go figure!)
Graspop on the other hand cancelled themselves! Due to, amoungst others, the annulation of said Hellfest.
Because... NO DECISION on festivals has yet been taken, and... as from now, this decision will be postponed to... April. (For Dutch speaking Belgium at least, for French speaking Belgium, er, I have actually no info about it!)

 

[agresionpower]

looks like wacken is postponed once again:
https://www.wacken.com/en/news-details/wacken-open-air-2021-postponement/

 

[Quark]

Yep.

And if this continues, no ROA either.

Which leaves Meh-Suff the only festival this summer, apart from Ehv Metal Meeting.