• Indoor concerts can resume at 75% of their capacity.

  • The concert organizers are wondering about the return of the public, with the question of the adoption of the sanitary pass.

  • In addition, the planning of the tours in the fall remains an equation with several unknowns.

Indoor concerts can resume at 75% of their capacity.

For rooms accommodating less than 1,000 people, the public must wear a mask.

In rooms accommodating more than 1,000 people, wearing a mask will no longer be compulsory, but a health pass will be required at the entrance.

If these announcements are rather good news and presage a return to "life before", concerns persist on the organizers side.

Indeed, the health pass would be a brake on the sale of tickets.

They all note that most of the summer festivals are not sold out, some would not have sold half of the tickets…

The public reluctant in the face of the health pass

According to producer Matthieu Drouot (Gérard Drouot productions), “the public remains worried, they are not necessarily afraid of the virus, but rather of not being able to be reimbursed. Of the many concerts that had to be canceled in 2020, many people struggled to get their tickets refunded. The reserve of a valid health pass to be able to enter the room is therefore too uncertain for some, who probably do not wish to take this risk. In addition, we note that people do not understand this distinction for the performing arts, while there is no need for a health pass for religious, political or associative gatherings for example. People are turning to other hobbies or private parties. "

According to him, the health pass effect was tangibly felt for the Nuits de Fourvière (Lyon): “In May we sold the 1,500 seats on the opening day of the ticket office.

In June, we were able to add 1,500 additional places following the new regulations, with the condition of a valid health pass, and there we only sold 600 places.

"

Waiting situation

According to the turner Guillaume Benfeghoul (Allo Florida), "people are suddenly in a last minute logic, namely that they first do their test and then buy their place" which complicates the prospects of visibility upstream for organizers. The festivals which started at the end of June and which will be held until September will wipe the plasters, before the resumption of indoor concerts and tours of the fall of 2021. Professionals in the sector are awaiting the first indoor concerts which will be held this weekend to get an idea, and hope that there will not be too much absenteeism in the large venues.

For their part, the artists are very excited at the idea of ​​finding their audience and are delighted to return to the roads, even if they sometimes have trouble understanding why it is not physically there.

But the reunion "is often very emotional, as was the case for Jeanne Added at Printemps de Bourge" confides Joran Le Corre, turner and artistic director (Wart Music).

In general, the organizers remain confident about the holding of indoor concerts and upcoming tours, even if the health situation and the development of variants raise doubts.

A number of concerts divided by seven

The resumption of concerts at the start of the school year is being organized, even if many shows have already been postponed to 2022, or even to 2023. This is particularly the case for international artists since the health and quarantine constraints differ in each country, which makes it difficult to organize a tour. Elton John's farewell tour, postponed to October 2021 in Paris, will normally take place without any problem, specifies Matthieu Drouot, for whom the non-extension of the state of emergency beyond September 30 would be a relief.

Reprogramming and postponements can be a real headache.

For Guillaume Benfeghoul, “everything is done on a case-by-case basis and artist by artist.

The new measures were sudden, we are adapting and we are waiting to see what the start of the school year will give in relation to the epidemic, we are betting more on 2022. We are discussing with the artists to try to find the best dates according to too of their news.

We currently have around 30 shows planned for the next few months, compared to more than 200 in normal times.

"

2022 promises to be loaded

All these postponements also raise the question of venue availability: Won't there be a traffic jam if all the concerts resume at the same time in 2022?

Are we going to see a disproportionate supply of shows in the coming months?

All the concert organizers and concert halls contacted tell us that this is the case.

Especially in Parisian venues like La Cigale, L'Olympia, Le Trianon, unlike Zéniths in cities like Saint-Etienne or Pau which still have availability.

The Olympia calendar is already full until the end of 2022, with sometimes even several options per evening, knowing that the room is open more than 250 evenings per year.

The same goes for the Stade de France, whose weekends in 2022 are already complete with options as well.

For Guillaume Benfeghoul, who programs electro artists like M∅me and Bon Entendeur, the reopening of the clubs will also be a turning point.

Industry professionals remain optimistic, however, and view this health pass positively if it allows an almost completely normal recovery and if it allows artists to perform in the best conditions.

Everyone is eager to find the rooms and the public, who also seem to them to be waiting, wanting and frenzy to vibrate again “in person”.

"The luck, if I may say so, from which we have benefited in our sector during this crisis, is the confidence that the public has always placed in us, by keeping their tickets for months on end and by remaining patient in the face of postponements" confides us. in this regard Matthieu Drouot.

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