After a long year – and some – of being stuck at home to help stop the spread of Covid-19, we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. With the mass effort to get people vaccinated in 2021, festivals and concerts are starting to be planned for the summer as more and more states begin to re-open. We will take you through what is expected from how events will be set up to which events and festivals to look out for.

WHAT EVENTS ARE BACK IN 2021?

While some events such as sporting events have gotten a head start (starting with the NBA) concerts, and festivals have essentially stopped all over the country. For most other players involved in booking and coordinating shows in the live music business — which has been fighting a global year-long concert shutdown, massive revenue loss, and mounting debt since March 2020. The news of potentially going back to normalcy has everyone breathing a sigh of relief. As more people are being vaccinated and it is expected for most of the country to reach herd immunity by the summer, companies and festival organizations are starting to plan a big comeback.

THE TOKYO OLYMPICS

Many professional athletes that were looking forward and had been training so hard to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were very disappointed to say the least when the games were cancelled as the world shut down. In 2021, Tokyo has announced that the games are back on, for now. Although there are going to be some restrictions and athletes will need to take extra precautions. One of the policies that will be implemented will have to do with spectators who will be asked to socially distance themselves and simply clap instead of shout or cheer. The playbook has been and the opening ceremonies are supposed to take place on July 23rd. More than 11,000 athletes from over 200 countries are expected to descend on Tokyo for the Games, with another additional 4,000 for the Paralympics, as well as thousands of officials, support staff, coaches, and members of the media.

LGBTQA+ PRIDE PARADE AND EVENTS

Cities across the US are planning the annual Pride Festival and Parade. One of the biggest pride events is in Los Angeles and the city has already set the date for June 11th – 13th. The celebration will presumably be held in West Hollywood and they will have performers, the list of performers has not yet been announced, however, we expect this event to be a big one. According to their website, the LA Pride organization will be releasing safety plans to ensure the event meets new guidelines according to the city of Los Angeles.

CONCERTS

Many artists have announced tour dates for the summer already. It will be a jammed-packed summer full of your favorite bands and artists. Among those bands is Rage Against The Machine Reunion Tour, this tour has been long awaited for long-time fans and is set to begin in early June 2021. Another long-awaited tour is The Foo Fighters European Tour which is also set to begin in early June as the UK is also on track to re-open. Although festival-goers were hoping Coachella would be back this year, there are a few artists such as Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber who have announced stadium tours.

Check out All Rescheduled Music Events for 2021

LOCAL AND CULTURAL EVENTS

Local and cultural events are also beginning to plan for the summer. Events such as Summer Nights hosted by KCRW in Los Angeles Chinatown or the RoseBowl Flea Market are a good example. These events will all most likely be outdoor festival-like with plenty of elbow room to feel safe and be able to socially distance. These events are critical for small vendors and small businesses looking to set up booths to sell artisanal products and food.

Check out local events near you on the Do Stuff website

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO DO?

Depending on the guidance for the specific event – which most events are still trying to figure out – you should expect to be able to do much of what we were able to do pre-covid. While the details are not exactly spelled out, it is probable that social distancing may not be possible, but there will most likely be a lot of contactless features.

Technology has enabled planners to provide delegates with touch screens, event apps, sensor beacons, and facial recognition to name but a few. For those planners that embraced this technology at their events, the idea of accelerating contactless will not be a surprise. And the more contactless, the better.

It is also possible that events will require you to have proof of being vaccinated, however, this is a controversial topic as there are people who do not want to be vaccinated and the vaccine is not mandatory for the US population.

Read 100 Event Trends for 2021

WILL EVERYTHING GET BACK TO NORMAL?

It is expected for there to be a sense of normalcy – or this may just be our optimism talking – but we do expect certain things to change in order to promote social distancing and contactless behaviors. The reality is that we have all changed the way we live and most of those habits are here to stay.

Additionally, the US government has already been discussing “vaccine passports” for travel, and as it stands right now if you have proof of your vaccine you do not need a mandatory quarantine. We imagine that this may also be the case for some events this summer, but we have some time until then and things can quickly change.

It’s safe to expect for certain sanitation changes will be made, especially for outdoor festivals.

Family Industries live activations will be back at events around the country, providing screen printing, custom sublimations and more!

As many music festivals begin to plan to make a big comeback towards the end of the year and early 2022, unique promotional products will also begin to be planned by big companies such as Toyota who normally has a big presence in collaboration with the event and generally includes custom printed or embroidered t-shirt, hats and other cool promo merch.

Family Industries will be providing printing services and will also be taking the necessary precautions to follow guidelines from the CDC which may include cutting back on the level of face-to-face and physical interactions, touch-screen custom sublimation, as well as regular cleaning of surfaces and wearing masks.

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