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By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: Will the live event industry ever recover from COVID-19 restrictions?

Feb 18, 2022 | 11:20 AM

A FRIEND OF MINE TOLD ME earlier this week that, now that full capacity is allowed at events in B.C., she’s actually less likely to attend a Kamloops Blazers game.

She says she has no interest in sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers, despite her love for watching her favourite junior team.

I can sympathize.

Organizations like the Blazers who rely on a full house won’t want to hear it, but there will definitely be a portion of the population who are not interested in being part of a full house.

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It’s not specifically because they fear COVID-19, but they have come to a more generalized reluctance to be around strangers.

The “strangers are bad and we should stay away from them” message has been reinforced to us in so many ways over the past two years.

I haven’t seen a scientific survey on event attendance reluctance, but Canadian music journalist Alan Cross posed a question on his Twitter account asking if restrictions were lifted, how long it would take before respondents would go back to attending concerts in person.

Only 37.5 per cent said they would go back immediately.

The rest expressed some degree of reluctance — 18.5 per cent would go back to outdoor shows only, 21 per cent would go back to concerts in a couple of months, and 23 per cent said flat out that they were simply not ready.

Once again, that’s far from scientific, but it certainly shows the enthusiasm for returning to in-person events is muted at best.

Besides sporting events and concerts, this will have a big impact on other in-person gatherings as well.

Will attendance at weddings and funerals wane? Will churches see emptier pews on Sunday mornings, and be pressured to continue offering live streams for those who want to stay home? How will Western Canada Theatre be affected?

And crucially, how long will this impact last? Just for the next few months, or much longer?

Event organizers will have to hope and pray that people will remember the positive feelings they got when they attended an event live.

There is nothing like the magic of experiencing a hockey game, a concert or a play in person, and if people remember that magic, event organizers and promoters will be just fine.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.