Sunday, August 15, 2021

Live Nation Updates COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement at Concerts

The live music behemoth will now mandate proof of a vaccine or a negative test result for all artists, crew, and attendees at US venues and festivals.

Fans have their COVID-19 vaccination cards checked before entering the Foo Fighters concert at Madison Square Garden, photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Eddie Fu
August 14, 2021 | 

Live Nation is amending its COVID-19 safety protocols amidst the surging Delta variant. Going forward, the country’s largest concert promoter will require proof of a vaccine or a negative test result for all artists, crew, and attendees at US venues and festivals.

“Vaccines are going to be your ticket back to shows, and as of October 4th 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,” said Live Nation president and CEO Michael Rapino in a statement.

Live Nation had previously said it would allow artists to choose whether they would enforce the proof of vaccine or negative test requirement. Now, the live music behemoth is taking the decision out of artists’ hands and implementing a universal policy for all of its owned venues and promoter shows.

The change in Live Nation’s policy follows the announcement by its primary competitor, AEG, that it would be mandating a proof of vaccination at all of its US venues effective October 1st.

Vaccines are already required to attend indoor concerts in New York City, and Los Angeles is moving toward a similar mandate. A number of major corporations, including Netflix, have instituted mandatory vaccination policies for employees.

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