In early May, the U.K. organized several government-run live events with thousands of participants to measure if mass gatherings can resume safely. Events included the BRIT awards at London’s O2 arena, concerts, raves, the FA Cup final, and a semi-final at Wembley stadium.
According to the results, a small proportion of the 58,000 people who attended the pilot scheme became infected with COVID-19— only15 people to be exact. The news raised hopes that large-scale entertainment can happen if enough of the population was fully vaccinated.
Not long after, Barcelona and Paris followed suit and now it seems Quebec City will also join the list of places willing to host post-pandemic concerts to test if the virus will spread or not.
According to the Quebec government, Quebec City will host its first of two post-pandemic concerts in September which will be organized by researchers at Université Laval.
The government-funded concerts are estimated to cost between $2 and $3 million with one set to be held outdoors with about 20,000 people in attendance, and another indoors, with about 5,000 spectators.
Details will be unveiled in the coming weeks but as of now, it is unclear who will be allowed to attend, nor is it clear if you will need to be fully vaccinated and/or wear a mask.
The only thing we know for sure is that the concert will be free, said the tourism ministry.