The Quietus - A new rock music and pop culture website

News

Amsterdam Clubbers Take Part In COVID-19 Experiment
Christian Eede , March 9th, 2021 16:32

1300 people partied across two events as part of an investigation into how social distancing measures might be relaxed across the events industry

Two events took place at Amsterdam's 17,000-capacity Ziggo Dome last weekend, as part of an experiment by the Government and events industry into how clubs and concerts might be able to reopen.

As Euronews reports, the two events saw 1300 attendees being split into five groups, which were each placed under different rules and controls. Some had to wear masks, while others were prompted to shout and cheer as much as they could in order to monitor the spread of saliva particles. Everyone was electronically tagged to monitor their contact with others.

All the participants had to show a negative COVID-19 test 48 hours before the event, and will have to take another in the five days after. It was noted by the event's organisers that as the party went on, many attendees grew less conscious of respecting social distancing measures.

The tickets for last weekend's trials sold out within one hour of going on sale, with more than 100,000 people expressing interest in attending the two events, as well as others that the Dutch Government and events industry leaders are planning as part of an ongoing investigation into reopening venues. You can watch Euronews' report on the events above.