What's happening to music tours and festival in 2021?

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What’s happening to music tours and festivals in 2021?

Musicians and fans are getting ready for festivals and tours to make a comeback in 2021.

Limits on how many people can gather in one place and social distancing, as well as travel rules, all meant that music festivals and tours had to be cancelled in 2020 or take place online.

But, with vaccines already being given and people used to following rules to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, what does it mean for music events this year?

More online gigs

BBC's music expert, reporter Mark Savage, expects there to be more online concerts in 2021 because of their success in 2020 and because they can reach fans who don't live close to big cities where gigs usually take place.

Image source, Reuters
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BTS were one of the many bands that streamed their concerts online in 2020

Festivals and open air concerts

In 2020, , external had to go online and become virtual festivals instead. Last year Sam Fender played the UK's first socially distanced concert and this is one way open air concerts could return whilst still keeping people safe.

But in 2021 Mark says: "By the summer we hope festivals like Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds which take place outdoors, where the risk of transmitting coronavirus is smaller, will be able to resume.".

Reading and Leeds Festival are definitely optimistic they'll be able to go ahead and have already announced their headline acts for 2021.

Indoor gigs

Until large groups of people are able to come together indoors it will be hard for gigs to resume. Even when they do Mark Savage says "there will be some changes to make sure concerts are safe for everybody who attends. You may be asked to go in small groups or socially distance while you're in the venue. There may even be a way to check if people have had the coronavirus vaccine before they're allowed to buy a ticket."

A number of companies are looking into how they can make indoor events like these safer using methods like social distancing seating, staggered entry times and contact tracing once the event has ended.