Before COVID-19, I loved going to concerts with friends and family. The day trips to Toronto and the dinners preparing ourselves to see some of our favourite artists will always be some of my favourite memories. The one thing about concerts is that they aren’t quite COVID friendly. After all, thousands of people in an enclosed arena or stadium screaming and singing is not ideal for COVID or social distancing. It’s been more than two years since my last concert, but I was finally able to go to one again last Monday. Here’s all about my experience going to a concert for the first time since COVID-19.
To start off, I don’t think I really appreciated how much fun concerts were back in the day. I have always loved going to different concerts and they’ve become one of my favourite forms of entertainment. I think I took them for granted pre-COVID. Not being able to go to concerts during the pandemic didn’t seem like a huge deal until I was finally able to go to one again. Being able to jump around and dance in a concert environment was definitely something that I had been missing, I just didn’t realize it until last Monday.
One thing I also feel like I should mention is that in a post-COVID world, there will always be public health guidelines in place; this is the case for concerts. As you could imagine, the concert environment isn’t quite public-health friendly, so there are some very strict rules when it comes to attending a concert in this day and age. To start off, masks are required at all times unless you’re eating or drinking. This is one rule that I’m quite well acquainted with and totally understand due to how easily COVID could spread in a concert environment. One thing I noticed was that a lot of people weren’t wearing their masks, even when they weren’t eating or drinking. Personally, it didn’t affect me too much as I’m fully vaccinated and wore my mask the whole time. However, if you’re someone who isn’t completely comfortable being in big social settings with little to no masks, then maybe concerts aren’t for you just yet, just a heads up!
While we’re on the topic of public-health guidelines, the concert I went to did a great job of having an organized lineup in terms of getting into the venue. You have to show your proof of vaccination, get your bag checked and then you were able to scan your ticket and enter the venue. It made things way easier and quicker when entering! One thing that I definitely think has changed for the better in this post-COVID world is that a lot of events are more organized and easier to get into, which is really helpful when there is a huge crowd like at a concert.
All in all, I loved my concert experience. Obviously, it was quite different from previous concerts that I’ve been to, but I still had such a fun time and loved every second of it. It was so nice to be back in a concert environment and surrounded by those who have a mutual love for the artist. Although I can’t wait for concerts to be completely normal again, I still absolutely loved my experience and can’t wait to go to another concert hopefully very soon!