The live music and performance industry is among the hardest hit by the pandemic, as it was one of the first sectors to shut down and is expected to be one of the last to return.
While Brazil continues to have more than 12 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 , countries that have been more successful in controlling the spread of the virus have already begun to take the first steps towards normalcy and live shows.
Far from our reality of live streams and socially distanced events, such as drive-in concerts, some countries have already managed to hold good old-fashioned outdoor concerts with large audiences. Below we list some of these countries that have already resumed holding these long-awaited shows.
Experiment in Barcelona
The Spanish capital hosted the largest experiment with people to test gatherings without COVID-19 contagion. The test concert by the band Love of Lesbian took place last Saturday, the 27th, with 5,000 people who were tested before the event and received masks that were mandatory to wear at the event.
Midnight Oil in Australia
The band Midnight Oil managed to complete a five-show tour in Australia. The country had zero cases in January and continues to have low numbers of new infections per day. At the group's final performance, on March 20th, there were more than 13,000 people in attendance.
Crowded House in New Zealand
The veterans of Crowded House are also among the bands that had the coveted opportunity to resume live performances with some semblance of normalcy. They played numerous sold-out shows across New Zealand, with over 6,000 people attending the final performance without social distancing, which took place at Gibbston Valley on March 12th. The last show of the tour was last Sunday, the 28th.
The country has been averaging six new cases per day since October and has recorded only 26 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Megafestival in Taiwan
The Megaport festival takes place annually on the Asian island and was postponed in 2020, but returned in full force on March 27th and 28th of this year. With bands of all styles in the lineup and metal headliners, the event brought together around 90,000 people per day!
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