Socially distanced music festival that's 'safer than going to the supermarket' planned for August

Back in action: A stock image of festival-goers at a pre-lockdown event
Aranxa Esteve/Unsplash
Jochan Embley30 June 2020

A socially distanced music festival that aims to be “safer than going to the supermarket” is in the works for August.

Thermal screenings, daily alcohol limits and medical isolation huts are just a few of the measures planned for Unlocked, a series of events organised by Northern Irish festival Stendhal.

The three-day event was forced to abandon its initial plans to run as usual from August 6-8, but is now planning what has been dubbed “the first festival of its kind in the history of Northern Ireland”.

Spread across a number of weekends later this summer — with the first dates confirmed as August 21-22 and 28-29 — Unlocked will take place on a 51-acre site in Limavady, County Londonderry. Organisers say this will offer each festival-goer an average space of 413m², based on the planned attendance of 500 people.

Camp plots will measure 8m x 8m, with a limit of two people per tent, while social distancing — set to be two metres, possibly reduced to one metre depending on government advice — will be in place around the site, from the festival arenas to food vendors.

No alcohol can be brought onto the site, and revellers will be limited to between six and eight drinks per day, each of which must be purchased using drinks tokens. “Social distancing while inebriated is difficult,” organisers said.

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Toilets will be cleaned after each use, and medical isolation huts will be available for anyone who develops Covid-19 symptoms while at the festival.

Organisers note that all these plans are “entirely subject to lockdown restrictions on the dates of the proposed events”.

Festival director Ross Parkhill said: “We are confident that we have come up with an event plan that will make going to outdoor music events safer than going to the supermarket.

“We will be liaising with the local council, the police, fire service and ambulance service to ensure that we have covered every possible eventuality and how it could relate to social distancing and health and safety.

“We are confident that we have put in place a design that will give these bodies the confidence that what we are proposing can be achieved and achieved safely.”

Line-up announcements are expected in the coming days, and tickets will be available from July 4.

For more information, visit stendhalfestival.com

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