Download Festival Resurrected For 10,000 Capacity Covid Pilot

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Download Festival will take place this year after all, despite being called off back in march. The organisers have confirmed that they will be running a small-scale return next month for a three-day camping pilot as part of ongoing research into the safe return of live music.

The capacity will be significantly reduced – down from the festivals usual 111,000 to just 10,000 – but organisers say “moshing will be allowed”.

It follows a number of smaller-scale pilot events, including a 5,000 people gig at Sefton Park that saw Blossoms play to an audience with no social distancing or mask-wearing, the 4,500 capacity Brit Awards at The O2 Arena where the audience could mingle without masks, 17 days of the World Snooker Championships which saw around 10,000 attend across the event, a 22,000 spectator reduced-capacity football at Wembley Stadium, and 6,000 revellers who packed into a nightclub in Liverpool over two days without masks.

Among the 58,000 people who took part in the smaller-scale pilot events, only 15 cases of Covid-19 emerged. But the exercise is not complete and other events are being monitored, with a final report due soon.

The Download pilot is set to take place at the festivals usual Donington Park in Derbyshire, from the 18th-20th June. All attendees must be aged over 16 and be willing to stay for the whole weekend, with no day tickets going on sale. Tickets will go on sale here from Tuesday (June 1st) for all existing Download ticketholders. General sale will then take place from June 3rd.

Festival Republic boss Melvin Benn said, “Following the huge success of our Sefton Park event, we are delighted to contribute to Phase II of the Government’s Events Research Programme with the creation of the first three-day camping festival which will be the Download Pilot at Donington Park.”

“This massive next step will help us understand and study the safe return of large-scale festivals with no social distancing or face masks over a full weekend… the return of the full festival experience we have all been waiting for and a much needed return to work for musicians, backstage crew, caterers and many more that form part of the UK’s exemplary live music industry.”

We're hyped to announce #DownloadPilot. A camping festival pilot in Donington Park, that’s part of the government’s Event Research Programme.

Priority access for DL22 ticket holders available on Tues 1st Jun. General sale Thurs 3rd Jun.https://t.co/mnsDqBoNCM pic.twitter.com/PPZ41jJEGL

— Download Festival (@DownloadFest) May 26, 2021