Return to Arts venues

[kernelbogey]

If I can make one practical suggestion - a separate thread like “return to the concert hall(and opera house !! ) would mop up a lot of the latter discussion here. It would also be of some public service benefit -outlining what is needed in terms of vaccine proof , seat spacing and general audience pinch points - like the notoriously crowded exit from the Amphitheater loos at Covent Garden!

Following up on Heldenleben's useful contribution to a slightly fractious exchange of views on the Proms General Topics thread, I'm starting this as a place to report experiences and share views about access to all kinds of arts events - art galleries, theatres et al - as well as concerts, in the context of changing (Covid-related) regulations on public gatherings, given the varied responses of such venues to them.

[kernelbogey]

Bump

[Ein Heldenleben]

Following up on Heldenleben's useful contribution to a slightly fractious exchange of views on the Proms General Topics thread, I'm starting this as a place to report experiences and share views about access to all kinds of arts events - art galleries, theatres et al - as well as concerts, in the context of changing (Covid-related) regulations on public gatherings, given the varied responses of such venues to them.

Thank you Kernel - sadly I have little to contribute though I am planning a trip to an outdoor cultural event on Thursday but as it’s outdoors that’s not very daring. Also booked nights at a London hotel in October . Mulling over whether to get tickets for Jenufa at the ROH but just don’t fancy being stuck with hundreds of fellow mask wearers or worse non mask wearers. It would also involve a seven hour return rail trip and at least one night in a hotel .

I do hear though that coughing just doesn’t happen any more..

[LMcD]

Thank you Kernel - sadly I have little to contribute though I am planning a trip to an outdoor cultural event on Thursday but as it’s outdoors that’s not very daring. Also booked nights at a London hotel in October . Mulling over whether to get tickets for Jenufa at the ROH but just don’t fancy being stuck with hundreds of fellow mask wearers or worse non mask wearers. It would also involve a seven hour return rail trip and at least one night in a hotel .

I do hear though that coughing just doesn’t happen any more..

The phenomenon of a mixed crowd of mask wearers and non-wearers, and their apparently illogical distribution within venues - large groups alternating with completely empty spaces - may be down to genuine confusion as to what is and isn't allowed, recommended, suggested or encouraged, but I would think twice and then several times more before attending an indoor event which it was likely to occur.
We're due to attend a concert at our local church at the end of August. We attended one at the same venue a few weeks ago, when the wearing of masks was universal as far as we could see, However, things seem to be less straightforward now. One can't even generalize now and state that most younger people don't wear masks and most older people do.
I'm not sure whether stately homes count as venues, but we toured a couple recently during a break in Yorkshire. Although a sizeable minority of people didn't wear a mask, the one-way system and control of the number of visitors and size of parties meant that there was virtually no close contact.
Our local classical music organizer experienced great difficulty in selling tickets for the annual Last Night Of The Proms concert, held in its regular venue. In previous years it sold out well before the day of the concert.

[duncan]

Thanks for starting a general thread kb.

As background, I had Covid for Christmas. It was relatively minor, completely flattened me for a week, but I didn’t have any breathing problems at the time. However I still feel some after-effects: subjective fatigue and objectively reduced exercise capacity. As a life-long exercise enthusiast this is quite disabling and I’m extremely keen to avoid another bout. I’m vaccinated and have the presence of antibodies confirmed by testing. I’m still nervous about crowded spaces but love live music-going so I have a dilemma.

I went to the lovely Pergolesi and Stravinsky prom on Friday and to Cosi at Glyndebourne yesterday. Mask wearing was about 75% in both places. There was a contrast in the other precautionary arrangements of the two venues.

As others have said, admission to the Albert Hall depended on proof of vaccination or recent negative PCR test. This made me feel pretty comfortable attending, although I know the determined (other descriptions are available) could circumvent this.

Glyndebourne actively encouraged mask wearing during the performance and took our temperatures on entry. There was no requirement for proof of vaccination or negative tests, which I hadn’t registered beforehand (my mistake). It’s put me off a return visit somewhat.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Thanks for starting a general thread kb.

As background, I had Covid for Christmas. It was relatively minor, completely flattened me for a week, but I didn’t have any breathing problems at the time. However I still feel some after-effects: subjective fatigue and objectively reduced exercise capacity. As a life-long exercise enthusiast this is quite disabling and I’m extremely keen to avoid another bout. I’m vaccinated and have the presence of antibodies confirmed by testing. I’m still nervous about crowded spaces but love live music-going so I have a dilemma.

I went to the lovely Pergolesi and Stravinsky prom on Friday and to Cosi at Glyndebourne yesterday. Mask wearing was about 75% in both places. There was a contrast in the other precautionary arrangements of the two venues.

As others have said, admission to the Albert Hall depended on proof of vaccination or recent negative PCR test. This made me feel pretty comfortable attending, although I know the determined (other descriptions are available) could circumvent this.

Glyndebourne actively encouraged mask wearing during the performance and took our temperatures on entry. There was no requirement for proof of vaccination or negative tests, which I hadn’t registered beforehand (my mistake). It’s put me off a return visit somewhat.

Surprised at Glyndebourne- a much smaller venue than the RAH…