Photo: David Wala / Shutterstock
About 2,500 British music fans saw a live performance on August 11 – and unlike some recent Stateside shows, we could not see our masks. Rock singer-songwriter Sam Fender performed the first show at the pop-up Virgin Money Unity Arena in Newcastle, crowned as the “first socially distant music hall” in the country since the COVID-19 pandemic. The venue took over Gosforth Park in Newcastle with 500 metal platforms, each two meters apart and accommodating up to five people. According to the Belfast Telegraph, each platform has a table, chairs, and a refrigerator. Even reserving a lower density than the park could hold in non-pandemic times, maps look reasonable. Tickets for an upcoming Two Door Cinema Club show on August 15 are £ 37.50 per person, with an additional £ 20 charge per party to reserve the platform. Guests on the same platform must arrive in the same car. When it comes to concessions, you can pre-order drinks separately from your ticket (including a four-pint beer mug or a three-bottle package of wine!) And pick them up at the location ball.
Sure, maybe the arena just reinvented VIP lawn seating and made it stand out. But some fans could get used to it. “My hatred for human contact with people I do not really know, really approves of this,” wrote @bloom_live on Twitter. In a separate tweet, @petalspawspages added, “THIS IS HOW I WANT TO BECOME IT REALLY. I CAN FINALLY GO FESTIVALS !! Fender itself – which performed again on August 13 – tweeted, “Thank you for tonight your fucking legends.” The shows will last all summer, with Van Morrison himself performing on September 3rd.
