Australia will host 1,000 concerts over 20 nights in November to boost the sector after COVID-19, while Live Nation Finland has expanded its summer concert series and Cineworld aims for a July reopening date…
Great Southern Nights
Great Southern Nights, a programme that will stage 1,000 gigs in Sydney and New South Wales (NSW) throughout November, has been launched to boost the Australian live sector after COVID-19.
The event will feature 20 nights of performances culminating with the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awards in Sydney.
Stuart Ayres, the minister for jobs, investment, tourism in Western Sydney, said: “This celebration of outstanding Australian artists and incredible live music venues across NSW gives us all something to look forward to, from event-goers to industry.”
The event will include performances by Amy Shark, The Jungle Giants, Birds of Tokyo, Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, The Teskey Brothers, The Veronicas and the Tones.
Great Southern Nights will follow up-to-date state health advice on venue capacity and social distancing regulations.
ARIA chief executive officer, Dan Rosen, added: “We’re proud to create this opportunity for Australian musicians, and help bring back the live music scene right across NSW.
“Live music events bring visitors, culture and excitement to communities. This initiative will provide an invaluable boost for the artists, crew, venues and music community that make gigs happen.”
The newly formed Live Entertainment Industry Forum (LEIF), which represents Australia’s largest live entertainment and sport businesses, last week welcomed the government’s move to allow outdoor ticketed events of up to 10,000 attendees from July.
The Australian national cabinet agreed to more substantial caps on events in the third stage of eased restrictions as part of new relaxed physical distancing rules.
Live Nation Finland has expanded its summer concert series, which kicked off on June 11, “due to high demand and sold out shows.”
The series, titled Suvilahti Summer, has added additional dates from Olavi Uusivirta Duo and Jesse Marki after experiencing sold out shows from Finnish acts Maustetutöt, Anssi Kela and Knip.
The event is scheduled to run until the end of June at Helsinki’s Suvilahti energy field.
Suvilahti Summer is following current COVID-19 guidelines, including setting groups of two to six people at tables and chairs, while individuals are also separated.
The Finnish government eased COVID-19 measures on June 1 to allow indoor and outdoor public gatherings of up to 500 people.
Cineworld, the world’s second largest cinema chain, is aiming to open all its cinemas in the US, UK and Europe by July.
The firm, which has 9,518 screens across 790 sites in 11 countries, said today (Tuesday) since releases for films Tenet and Mulan have been confirmed, it has been able to create a screening schedule.
Screens in the Czech Republic and Slovakia will be first to open on June 26, followed by Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania on July 3, Israel on July 9, and finally the US and UK on July 10.
However, all dates are subject to various government restrictions, the firm said.
Cineworld, which operates cinema chains Regal in the US, Cineworld and Picturehouse in the UK and Ireland, Cinema City in Europe and Yes Planet in Israel, will introduce a number of COVID-19 measures such as updating its booking system to ensure social distancing throughout its venues.
The company will also adapt its daily film schedules in order to manage queues and avoid the build-up of crowds in entrances.
Cineworld chief executive Moshe Greidinger said: “We are thrilled to be back and encouraged by recent surveys that show that many people have missed going to the movie theatre.
“With a strong slate confirmed for the coming weeks, including among others ‘Tenet,’ ‘Mulan,’ ‘A Quiet Place Part II,’ ‘Wonder Women 1984,’ ‘Black Widow,’ ‘Bond,’ ‘Soul,’ ‘Top Gun Maverick’ and many more, the entire Cineworld team remains committed to being ‘the best place to watch a movie’”.
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