Published
Mon, May 31, 2021, 09:30
- The three-day pilot will gauge Covid-19 transmission at mass music events.
UK rock festival Download will be run as a pilot to test the feasibility of large-scale music events.
After announcing its cancellation in March, the three-day festival revealed its return to participate in the UK Government's Event Research Programme (ERP) according to the BBC. 10,000 people with negative lateral flow and PCR tests will be allowed to attend without masks or social distancing while researchers from Public Health England monitor possible transmissions. The festival takes place from June 18th at Donington Park. Previous editions of Download have had more than 100,000 attendees.
The event is part of the UK's phased reopening programme. Previous ERP pilots found 15 out of a possible 58,000 people tested positive following trial mass events. ERP research has also deemed mass events to be safe as shopping or eating at a restaurant. Learn more in this report on the prospects for festivals returning in Europe and the UK.
Photo credit: Abbie Shipperley