AEG and Live Nation have announced that they will require proof of vaccination to attend their events by the beginning of October.
The rules apply to both staff and ticketholders, which means that crew working on touring shows using any AEG or Live Nation-affiliated venue will need to show either proof of vaccination or a negative test taken within 72-hours of entry to each event.
AEG, which owns or operates more than 300 venues including The Roxy in Los Angeles, Webster Hall in New York, and The Theatre at Resorts World Las Vegas, said the decision was spurred by an increase in cases due to the Delta variant and vaccine hesitancy slowing down the rate of vaccinations. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which recently cancelled this year’s event, is an AEG partner. Jay Marciano, COO of AEG and chairman and CEO of AEG Presents, said, “We’ve already had to deliver bad news about JazzFest this week; I think everyone can agree that we don’t want concerts to go away again, and this is the best way to keep that from happening.”
Concert promoter Live Nation, which sells 500 million tickets for events a year, had previously implemented the policy for Lollapalooza. CEO Michael Rapino told Rolling Stone, “Vaccines are going to be your ticket back to shows.”
Many other venues are updating their Covid-19 policies due to the spike in cases. The Las Vegas Convention Center, where LDI2021 will take place from November 15 to 21, has announced that visitors will be required to wear masks in all indoor spaces owing to the increased number of cases. Despite very different approaches to safety around the country, it is clear that no one wants live events to shut down again after reopening this summer. Live Nation confirmed that it will enforce the vaccination mandate in the US wherever legally possible. AEG Presents COO and General Counsel Shawn Trell, acknowledged in an announcement that some state regulations may clash with the new policy on vaccinations but said, “We know that using our platform to take a strong position on vaccinations can make an impact. The message we want to send is simple and clear: the only way to be as safe as possible is to require everyone to be vaccinated. And we’re confident that others who haven’t been ready to make this full commitment yet will follow our lead.”