5,000 Capacity Barcelona Gig Goes Forward After Same-Day COVID-19 Screening

A gig held in Palau Sant Jordi was attended by five thousand fans of the indie rock band Love of Lesbian on Saturday.

 

The experimental event marks the largest held in Europe, a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, with rapid coronavirus antigen testing allowing an event of such a capacity to be deemed safe.

 

Shows with such a testing system may be the future of how events organise and go forward, as a result, this event is important to assessing how rapid testing can effectively prevent COVID-19 outbreaks.

 

The event itself, took place with special permission from Spain’s health authority as a pilot. The test and mask were included in the ticket price, which at the highest price was £24. The results were also given within 10-15 minutes of testing, on a phone app.

 

The experiment points to a devised effort to recover EU economies post-coronavirus as a result of a recovery fund.

 

By midday, three out of 2,400 people had tested positive and one person who was screened had come into contact with a positive case. Consequently, those who had tested positive were unable to attend, though were entitled to a refund.

 

While a slower entrance to the start of the concert as a result of health controls, the event was surreal, displaying a closeness of crowds — a sight which has not been common for many months now.

 

Experts have decided that the preliminary case study showed that pre-screening with antigen testing alongside the use of face masks is successful in preventing infections — even without social-distancing rules.

 

Still, there was of course mandatory mask-wearing in the concert bubble, showing how life still has a way to go before returning to normal.

 

Words: Seeham Rahman