In England the first music festival with social distancing (for real)

It was staged at Newcastle's Virgin Money Unity Arena, set up for the occasion with 500 raised platforms capable of holding up to five people each. And then, organized parking, an intelligent queue system for waiting, totems with disinfectants and the possibility of ordering drinks via the app

Sam Fender at the Virgin Money Unity Arena (photo: Thomas M Jackson / Redferns) Don't give up on music in the days of covid-19. In the United Kingdom - where the easing of restrictions is moving away and Transport Minister Grant Shapps is taking action with a squeeze on countries at risk - the first festival with real social distancing took place. In Newcastle, in the Virgin Money Unity Arena, around 2,500 people attended the event that was headlining the promising Sam Fender, author of Hypersonic Missiles and winner of the Critics' Choice Award at the Brit Awards in 2018.



The space has been designed with an organized parking and a queue system for waiting able to respect social distancing, a big stage and 500 raised platforms (to contain a maximum of five people) arranged on different angles of inclination depending on the distance from the first row. It seemed like an arduous challenge and, instead, the event kept its promises with lots of additional precautions: a totem with disinfectants and the possibility of ordering drinks via the app.

Entrance to the Virgin Money Unity Arena ( Photo: Thomas M Jackson / Redferns) A virtuous example that could also be introduced in Italy, where cases have returned to increase (yesterday +481), especially among the youngest. And the government is already thinking, if the contagion curve continues to rise, to reintroduce the obligation to wear a mask outdoors and the closure of discos in the first place.