Spain Just Had the Largest Rock Concert During the Pandemic, but It's Not What You Think

Each country in the world seems to be dealing with the pandemic in their own way. And after a year of lockdowns and travel restrictions, some are saying enough is enough. Last Saturday night, Spain threw a large rock concert with nearly 5,000 people in attendance in Barcelona.

The concert was not illegally staged, nor full of protesters or anti-maskers. In fact, it was entirely the opposite. The concert, which was held in the Palau Sant Jordi arena, was a trial planned by the city to get an idea of how large events could possibly function during this stage of the pandemic.

The Spanish indie band Love of Lesbian performed to some 5,000 fans, all of which had to take a mandatory COVID-19 rapid test before they were admitted to the concert. Once inside, attendees had to wear high-quality face masks provided by the concert organizers at all times; though fans were able to hug, dance, and get close to one another.

The fans also had to agree to follow ups from public health authorities to see if they came down with coronavirus in the weeks after the concert. The goal is to analyze the infection rates of the concertgoers with that of the general population in order to find discrepancies that could point to contagion at the concert. If successful, this could mean there are possible opportunities for large-scale events in Europe and possibly the world. Until then, we wait with bated breath.

What do you think, Pirates? Would you attend a concert this large during the pandemic?