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What to expect when attending live events in 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic pulled the plug on live events for much of 2020 and 2021. It’s estimated that the live entertainment industry posted a $30 billion loss in 2020 alone due to the pandemic. But as vaccination rates increase and the number of COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths decline, events are slowly coming back. An October 2021 Bankrate poll found that 61 percent of Americans plan to attend a live event in the fourth quarter of 2021.
That doesn’t mean a complete return to normal, however. Entertainers are still canceling, postponing and reimagining live events. The Weeknd, for example, postponed a planned 2020 arena tour to June 2021, only to bump it to January 2022 and then summer of 2022.
Event-goers may be subject to new restrictions as well. On Oct. 4, 2021, Live Nation began requiring all artists, crew and event attendees to show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID test from no more than 72 hours before the event. The Centers for Disease Control continues to urge mask-wearing for those who are not yet vaccinated and fully vaccinated individuals when indoors in areas with high COVID transmission rates.
If you’re itching to get back to attending live events, it’s essential to know what to expect and how to plan financially.
Employment in Sport in the EU
In 2020, 1.3 million people were employed in the field of sport in the EU, accounting for 0.7% of total employment. The EU countries with the highest share of people working in the field of sport were Sweden (1.6%), Finland (1.4%), Spain and the Netherlands (both 1.0%).
Between 2015 and 2020, employment in sport rose on average by 1.6% each year, compared with +0.8% for total employment. This represents an increase of around 100 000 people employed in sports, with Italy, Spain, Greece and Germany accounting for more than half of this increase. During this period, the number of people employed in sport increased in 21 out of 27 EU countries. Nevertheless, in 2020, employment in sport decreased 4.0% in comparison with 2019, against -1.3% recorded for total employment.
