One of the largest ticket promoters and event organizers in the United States is taking up precautions against COVID-19 by requiring artists and audience members to prove vaccination or produce a negative test.
“Vaccines are going to be your ticket back to shows, and as of October 4, we will be following the model we developed for Lollapalooza and requiring this for artists, fans and employees at Live Nation venues and festivals everywhere possible in the US,” Michael Rapino, President and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment, said to NBC News.
This move comes after a COVID-19 outbreak at Watershed Music Festival, which is organized by Live Nation.
According to Grant County Public Health, 160 people who attended the three-day camping festival tested positive. The outbreak spans over 11 counties.
Roughly 20,000 people attend Watershed meaning less than 1% of people have tested positive so far. Grant County Public Health expects more cases to crop up.
“We are already seeing secondary cases,” Grant County Health official Theresa Adkinson said. “When I say secondary cases, a household member contracted COVID at watershed and came home and now they’ve infected other folks they either work with or live with.”
According to the Watershed website, COVID-19 vaccines were not mandatory. For fans who are not vaccinated, Watershed recommended they wear masks.
KHQ has reached out to Live Nation about the outbreak. It is not clear if the vaccine requirement was put in place due to the outbreak at Watershed.
Additional Live Nation events are slated to take place at the Gorge Amphitheatre in the next few months but all Live Nation events at the venue will take place before the vaccine requirement hits on October 4.
The next Live Nation event at the Gorge is four-day camping festival Bass Canyon on Thursday.
