Many artists have announced their tour dates and events that got postponed due to the pandemic are rescheduled for the upcoming months. Awards and red carpet events are being held, games and sporting events are opening their doors and now we can be in the audience. Even some companies are considering bringing back their employees together for a Christmas celebration to bond after almost two years of zoom meetings.

It looks like the world is opening up again and we are having a little bit of “life before COVID” back. People are eager to see performers on stage once again and performers are thrilled to be able to go back on stage after this long break. In a concert held in Mountain View in October, Adam Levine, singer of Maroon 5, said, “thank you for being here, you make me feel alive, after all the tours we’ve done this is the one we were looking forward to the most.”

In March 2020, live events like concerts, musicals, festivals, and plays all closed their doors in the wake of COVID-19. Companies like AEG Presents and Live Nation Entertainment, which owns promotion entity Live Nation and ticketing giant Ticketmaster, were some of the hardest hit by the pandemic,

According to Ticket master’s page, live events may look a little different than what we’re used to but we truly believe that the electric feeling of excitement and connection will always remain.

The page says, “We put this page together to let you know what to expect as we work closely with venues everywhere to help make it a safer experience for all,” which means that according to the venue and the type of event you are attending, the guidelines might vary.

“We’re encouraging venues everywhere to adopt social distancing and sanitization measures to help keep fans and staff as safe as possible,” the website says. “As venues start opening up again, an event’s status may change due to developing safety policies, but we’ll keep you posted if that’s the case.”

It’s recommended to check the event’s page before the due date and be prepared to bring your vaccination card, ID and mask. Some events ––– if they are in an open space ––– might allow the visitors to take off their masks, but let’s be realistic: some of them they don’t have “mask police” telling you to pull up your mask and there’s no “regulation” with it when there are hundreds of people at the same establishment, singing their hearts out loud to their favorite artist.

At the events I’ve been to this year there might be social distancing at the entrance. People respect lines and they move fast. However, once you are inside and you don’t have a chair or designated space, unfortunate things like Astroworld could happen because social distancing gets very hard to control at these events. But the maximum capacity at the events must be regulated, and that’s a no-brainer.

On a survey made by Statista back in August 2020, only 6% of people felt comfortable going to live events over a year later. With vaccines and boosters, more people seem to feel comfortable and have been enjoying attending concerts and such.

Many of the upcoming events have sold out their tickets and even though vaccines aren’t protecting you from getting the virus ––– and they are positive cases still going on ––– they are giving us a sense of protection and people feel more comfortable knowing that our immune system might be stronger if we get it.

From socially-distanced games to drive-in concerts, event organizers are finding creative ways to bring people back together again safely. Find the live events you missed the most, happening near you soon.