June 21st.
That is the target date the British Government is eyeing, should everything go well and vaccinations continue at the rate they are for a return to some sense of normalcy and a lifting of all legal restrictions on major gatherings.
Nearly a year into the pandemic lockdown and the moratorium on live music, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino is showing a cautious sense of optimism given the information from the U.K. government.
As a result, Live Nation went ahead with tickets sales for Reading and Leeds, clocking an impressive 100,000 tickets for the initial on-sale and eventually selling out by week's end according to industry voice, Music Business Worldwide. Creamfields was also put on-sale and the electronic-music focused event amassed record sales, resonating with a consumer base with a profound appetite for live music and some semblance of normalcy.
All three events are tentatively scheduled for late August.
As reported by Variety, Rapino's report was equally dismal and optimistic, having to report the company's bleak 2020 earnings, while remaining hopeful about the future forecast.
“Every day we seem to have a new state or country talking about when they’ll open up, so we’re feeling more optimistic than we were a month ago,” Rapino said. “Lots of artists are calling, looking at how we start up in July, August, September. So for right now, we still believe we’ll have enough open in the U.K., Australia, Canada and the U.S. to keep what we have on the books in amphitheaters booked for now. We might have certain states that might not be ready, but we have enough states and enough artists willing to play the open slots if we get to that level in the right markets."
Rapino punctuated his statement, “So as long as these states open up to the right capacities, we can start in midsummer and in the southern U.S. we can go all the way into November.”
This particular timeline with regards to the outlook for the United States seems to align with the nation's top infectious disease expert in Dr. Anthiny Fauci. Earlier this year, Fauci addressed the Association of Performing Arts Professionals and explained that in vaccinating 70%-85% of the population, he anticipated seeing stages reopen for performances by early to mid-Fall of 2021.
