You'll Need a Negative COVID-19 Test To Attend Future Concerts

According to Ticketmaster's plan concert-goers must prove they've tested negative for COVID-19 before they're able to attend an event.

On Tuesday, Ticketmaster announced it’s currently developing a plan to bring concerts back safely post-pandemic. The company is floating plans of using smartphones to signify fans’ COVID-19 vaccination status and if they tested negative within a 24 hour to 72 hour period. 

These details arrived on the heels of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine early test results. According to Billboard, the vaccine showed a 90% satisfactory rate on an initial clinical trial. This could point to the return of large events including concerts in the future.

Ticketmaster intends to utilize its digital ticketing app to manage and collect secure, encrypted data from third-party health information companies. Testing and vaccine distribution providers will also be used. Basically, if someone who wants to attend a concert purchases a ticket they’d need to verify they’ve been vaccinated. 

This is where vaccination providers come into play, after the test is complete, the person instructs the lab to deliver results to their health pass company. If they test negatively, the health pass company would verify their status to Ticketmaster. The verification would need to happen 24 to 72 hours before the concert. Credentials are necessary to access the concert or the event. If a positive result happens or a test wasn’t taken, access to the event won’t be granted. 

“We’re already seeing many third-party health care providers prepare to handle the vetting — whether that is getting a vaccine, taking a test, or other methods of review and approval — which could then be linked via a digital ticket so everyone entering the event is verified,” says Ticketmaster president Mark Yovich in Billboard’s exclusive report. “Ticketmaster’s goal is to provide enough flexibility and options that venues and fans have multiple paths to return to events, and is working to create integrations to our API and leading digital ticketing technology as we will look to tap into the top solutions based on what’s green-lit by officials and desired by clients.”

Beyond mandatory vaccinations, Ticketmaster's digital tickets connected to concert-goer's identities will prevent tickets from being transferred or resold. The company's new SmartEvent system will implement “social distancing,” “delayed entry” and “contact tracing.”