Displaying items by tag: pilot
Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza to host 1,500 people and have an enclosed dance area at pilot event
The Balearic Government and the Asociación Ocio de Ibiza (AOI), adhered to the International Nightlife Association have agreed on the conditions to hold a pilot event at Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza. The event on 25 June will be the hotel’s renowned Children of the 80's party and is part of a test to stimulate the leisure and entertainment sector on the island.
The conditions require a maximum capacity of 2,000 people, although to ensure the smooth running of the event, it has been decided to reduce the capacity to 1,500 and the wearing of masks will be compulsory at all times. The venue will have an enclosed dance area for 500 people and drinks must always be consumed at a table. The event will start at 7 p.m. and end at midnight.
In gratitude for their work in the hardest phase of the pandemic, Ocio de Ibiza – the association that represents Ibiza’s main nightclubs, beach clubs, and party brands - will invite the island’s frontline workers from various industries to attend the event. The invitation will be nominal, personal and, non-transferable.
"They deserve it. It's for them. We owe them a lot," stresses the Manager of the Ibiza Leisure Association and President of the International Nightlife Association, José Luis Benítez, who adds that entry to the event will be totally free.
“There is huge interest in this event and so the capacity will be completely fulfilled by the island’s essential workers. We’re sure that the public will understand. We have sent invitations to the majority of workplaces, such as the hospital and members of State Security Forces and Corps, among others. If there are places available, we will launch a website where more essential workers from other companies can sign up for. We know that there have been many groups that have been on the front line during the pandemic. I can only say to the general public that Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza will hold more events when they are authorized this season", explains Benítez.
Operational and hygiene measures for the event
When registering to attend the event, all attendees must include their personal details and state whether they have been vaccinated (with one or two doses), or have recovered from coronavirus. They will also be required to have a negative PCR test performed 72 hours before the event. Those who do not meet any of these three requirements must undergo an antigen test hours before the start of the event at a designated location in the vicinity of the venue. A team from Emergency Staff, a company specializing in health and safety in recreational environments, will carry out the tests. Once the registration has been formalized, a ticket with a QR code will be generated which will be used to access the event.
Access to the site will be staggered to avoid crowding. The entrance ticket will indicate the time they can access the event. Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza will have sufficient security personnel to ensure compliance with security protocols and, at the same time, to avoid large groups forming.
Although the risk of contagion is lower in open spaces, all hygiene measures agreed with the Balearic Government will be implemented, such as temperature checks, the installation of hydroalcoholic gel dispensers, as well as the obligation to wear a mask that can only be removed for drinking. In this sense, a specific area will be set up so that the public can buy drinks at the bar without crowding and access a designated area with tables where they can drink.
A dance area will also be set up with a capacity for 500 people, and with different access and exit points where drinking will not be allowed. This area will also be directly controlled by security guards. Masks will be available at the bar for customers who request them, and the toilets will be continuously cleaned. Likewise, the collaboration of law enforcement has been requested to avoid crowds both at the beginning and at the end of the event outside the venue.
"The test event aims to show that leisure activity and events can resume with the application of preventive measures. It is a priority to demonstrate that a regulated events venue offers more health and safety guarantees than illegal parties without any measures in place. We must prepare for the return of events in order to stop uncontrolled and unregulated leisure activity", says the Manager of the Ibiza Leisure Association.
Similarly, Joaquim Boadas, Secretary General of the International Nightlife Association and Spain Nightlife has stated, “The different pilot events that have been carried out these past months such as the one in Sala Apolo Barcelona, Liverpool, and Amsterdam, have proven that nightlife and the prevention of the spread of viruses can coexist with the proper measures in place. It’s about time that we start reopening an industry that has been closed or highly restricted for the past year, even with the economic shortfall the industry is facing, business owners and worker’s are determined to chip in for reopening to run as smoothly and as a safe as possible”.
Iván Brión, Global Operations Director of Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza, equally hails the pilot as a first step towards the reopening of the sector. "We are very happy to be able to be a part of this test promoted by the Balearic Government and Ocio de Ibiza. We are confident that this trial will serve to reactivate the island's leisure sector. We have made a great effort to have everything ready for this date so that everyone who attends will have a great experience. This event is a tribute to the essential workers to whom we have a lot to thank and for this reason, we have chosen to celebrate one of the most loved events - Children of the 80's", explains Brión.
Children of the 80's will be the chosen party for this rehearsal
Children of the 80's is the brand that has revolutionized the music scene in Ibiza and Tenerife with its events full of nostalgia, retro fashion, old school music, and live performances by artists who are a symbol of the 80s era.
Since its birth in Ibiza in 2015 by The Night League, the event’s popularity has grown very quickly over the years and is now established as one of the best-known events on the island. Children of the 80’s offers an alternative musical experience that appeals to a range of audiences, thus uniting different generations in front of one stage. The daytime event goes on until midnight and is open-air, which are further characteristics that have made it so special and different.
Names such as Village People, Boney M, Ultra Naté, GALA, Samantha Fox, Sabrina Salerno, Sugar Hill Gang, Barbara Tucker, VengaBoys, Alice DJ, to name but a few artists, have already played on the stages of Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza and Tenerife in recent years. The headline artists are always accompanied by an army of dancers and performers that keep the audience entertained with every track played at each Children of the 80's event.
Quique Tejada, Toni Peret, and José María Castells, members of the DJ trio Dream Team Reload, as well as Petit & Vázquez, creators of the popular party La Movida Ibiza, and saxophonist Lugotti, will be in charge of revving up the audience with uplifting tracks. The special guest artist is a surprise and will be revealed in the days in the lead-up to the event.The INA warns about the spike in illegal NYE parties
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The INA warns about the worldwide spike in illegal NYE parties due to lack of legal offer |
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The recent pilot test conducted at our Gold Member venue Sala Apolo Barcelona deems that nightlife is safe under specific measures |
While nightlife business owners and clubbers should be getting ready for the most important night of the year, New Year’s Eve, most nightlife venue’s doors are currently shut and unable to operate due to COVID restrictions. The worldwide scarcity in nightlife offer has caused an important spike in illegal parties for New Year’s Eve, with little to no health or safety measures.
Nightlife plays an important role in modern society and is one of the main players in the entertainment industry, allowing for new experiences with art, music, performance, fashion, and food. Nightlife is key to making cities vibrant and full of light at night since there's "always something going on" creating a sense of safety when daylight businesses are closed. In the past decade, due to its increasing demand, nightlife has evolved all around the world creating unique experiences for guests to escape their everyday lives and express themselves. Studies have shown that dancing is a very important part of socializing and has been proven to psychologically make people feel more connected reducing anxiety and stress and obtaining a sense of well-being. This only adds to the fact that clubbers are "starved" and in need of a place to escape the harsh moments that the coronavirus pandemic has caused since March of this year.
Illegal Nightlife offer vs. Legal Nightlife offer
From the International Nightlife Association, we would like to warn governing authorities about the great risk that comes with not having a regulated nightlife offer, inviting people who are socially starved to organize events and gather in spaces with no regulations or health and safety measures at all. These past weeks, the INA has detected events being promoted through private and public social media accounts, private forums, dating apps, privately encrypted messaging apps, event apps, and others. It’s important to remind that Apple recently removed an American app from the App Store that promoted private parties during the pandemic.
The INA has also detected that classified advertisement websites have posts that offer spaces to organize your own party with keywords such as “remote”, “no neighbors”, and “unlimited drinks” which generates a great risk for attendees not only due to the pandemic but for general safety and wellbeing. The events count with a high level of secrecy and confidentiality like revealing the location at last minute, using only encrypted messaging to communicate, secret passwords to know where the event takes place or upon entry, and even placing a sticker on the phone’s camera so the event can’t be recorded.
These illegal parties that have already been taking place since the start of the pandemic, have been charging large amounts of money for tickets, drinks, and the services offered at the party. This is not only causing a greater delay for regulated nightlife venues to reopen but also creating unfair competition for most nightlife venues that have shut down and haven't received any aid from most governing officials. This is also unfair competition for venues that have been allowed to reopen since each government has applied strict measures, measures that have to be fully paid for by nightlife business owners who also have to pay rent, workers, security personnel, insurances, licenses, just to name a few. All of the aforementioned are not paid for or even contemplated in illegal parties also putting the attendees at high risk.
As the Night Time Industries Association’s CEO Michael Kill stated, "Following discussions with many of the legitimate events promoters, industry leaders and general public across the country, as well as concerns levied both by regional police and local authorities on the impact of restrictions on New Year's Eve celebrations, we have estimated that we will see over 5,000 illegal parties across the UK."
"It has also been muted that many of these organizers will target warehouses from lost businesses during the pandemic, and are willing to take these risks and forgive the £10,000 fine within the admission charge to cover their bets.”
Carl Cox Condemns Illegal Raves Amidst Pandemic in Mix Mag Interview
World-renowned DJ Carl Cox, expressed his dismay regarding illegal parties and raves a few days back in an interview with Mix Mag, stating, “It’s irresponsible to be out there at the moment based on how everyone is trying to do the right thing to get past this. Having a party in a pandemic, it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever…If you are really into it, you’ll wait. If you are not into it and you just want to react or act out, it’s going to be the very thing that makes it worse.”
No SARS-CoV-2 infections in a live concert conducted in Barcelona (Spain) brings hope to the industry
While nightlife worldwide is mostly shutdown, Primavera Sound, the Fight AIDS and Infectious Diseases Foundation, and the University Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol in Badalona (Barcelona, Spain) has published the results of the PRIMA-CoV study with the satisfaction of having carried out a rigorous clinical trial that can be very useful and gives hope to many industries when it comes to the future celebration of events in indoor venues since none of the participants in the trial have been infected with the coronavirus.
These are the details of the results of the PRIMA-CoV study:
The PRIMA-CoV study is a randomized 1:1 clinical trial testing the hypothesis that a live concert performed under safe conditions would not be associated with an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infections. The study was approved by the ethics committee of the University Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol in Badalona (Barcelona).
The performance took place on December 12TH in our Gold Member Venue Sala Apolo, in Barcelona (Spain). All participants signed informed consent, had 18-59 years, no comorbidities, were not living with elderly household contacts, and had not been diagnosed with COVID during the last 14 days. All of them had a same-day entry screening with a negative SARS-CoV-2 antigen test performed in nasopharyngeal swabs by health-care personnel.
A series of safety measures were implemented inside the venue as well. There was a delimited outdoor place for smoking inside the building with strict control of the number of people in the venue. The bar area (with a capacity of 1600 attendees) was located in a supplementary room and drinks were served only in that area. Alcoholic beverages were allowed. Participants were asked to remove the face mask only when drinking.
A certified N95 cloth mask was given to every participant at the venue entrance. Mask wearing was mandatory during the entire event, but no physical distancing was required in the concert room (with a capacity of 900 people), where singing and dancing was permitted as well.
All airflows and room ventilation were optimized in the two indoor rooms and air exchange was monitored along with the entire event.
The concert included 4 performances: 2 Dj sessions and 2 live music with groups, for 5 hours overall. The average time the participants spent inside the concert was 2 hours and 40 minutes. The flowing movement of all the participants inside the venue was previously defined and marked, clearly delimited, and observed by the security crew during the event. Measures were implemented to avoid queues in toilettes and in the concert entrance and the way out.
All 1047 participants screened before the concert had a negative antigen result. Subjects were randomly assigned 1:1 to go inside the concert (active arm) or not (control group). All of them had to come back after 8 days to repeat a second SARS-CoV-2 rt-PCR in nasopharyngeal swabs to identify possible SARS-CoV-2 infections. 500 subjects was the maximum number allowed by healthcare authorities to be inside the venue. Of them, 463 entered into the concert and 496 remained in the control group with no access to the concert venue and completed the follow-up visit.
