On 22 February 2021, Boris Johnson announced his roadmap to ease England out of its third national lockdown. His final step of the roadmap hopes to see all legal limits on social contact removed no earlier than 21 June 2021. This is where the Government hopes to “reopen nightclubs and lift restrictions on large events and performances”, all of which we missed in 2020.
A return to normal?
Following this announcement, social media was filled with people excited at the thought of getting their lives back this summer. People started planning holidays, festivals, night outs, and parties after having little or nothing to look forward to this past year. From this, memes were created and TikToks were shared of the possibility of what life could look like again.
Later that week on 24 February 2021, Reading & Leeds festival announced that it would be going ahead this summer.
https://twitter.com/OfficialRandL/status/1364526936660336643?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
At the thought of having a somewhat normal summer, people were queuing on ticket sites to have plans for the bank holiday weekend. By the end of the day, people were tweeting about their struggles to get hold of a ticket and their luck if they had managed to get one. With Creamfields selling out earlier that day, a festival which is on the same weekend as Reading and Leeds, it may have increased the demand for tickets in the hopes not to miss out.
The future is still uncertain
Since holidays and the possibility of leaving the country this summer are so uncertain, people may have looked at festivals to give them this opportunity instead. After hardly seeing friends this past year with social restrictions in place, there is nothing some people would love more than to be in a field with their friends listening to their favourite artist. As a fan of Leeds festival myself and having attended it two years in a row, I was more than excited to get my hands on a ticket particularly since a holiday may not be on the cards for another year.
But for some people, the possibility of normal life may seem daunting, especially because we haven’t been in large crowds or around that many people for over a year now. This has caused some stir on social media sites such as Twitter because some people are unable to believe that things will go back to normal just months after social restrictions are hoped to have been lifted. However, since the majority of us didn’t have any major motives for the whole of 2020 you can’t blame people for being excited. Many people would also prefer to take the risk of buying a ticket and it being rescheduled for a year later instead of missing out on another summer.
Fear of missing out
This is not to say that you won’t have a good summer if you did not get Reading or Leeds tickets, or any other festival tickets for that matter, since lots of line ups and tickets are currently being released. If you don’t want to go to a festival this year or the possibility of being stood in the middle of a crowd is giving you increased anxiety, don’t let social media fool you into thinking that you’re wasting your summer. Likewise, if you were stuck in the long queues on the internet trying to get a ticket and are saddened by the fact you were unable to, you can always try to get a resale ticket at a later date or there are alternative ways to make your summer the best you can without attending a crowded field.
If festivals do go ahead this year, there is speculation that they won’t even be like how they normally are. Particularly if some social restrictions have to stay in place it may change the dynamic of the festival. This possibility perhaps put people off buying tickets over the fear they won’t enjoy it as much as they normally would. But after the year we have had, people will more than likely just be thankful to be able to get out of the house and do things they used to even if it isn’t exactly the same. Anything that doesn’t involve sitting in our houses or the most exciting part of our week being a daily walk or a trip to the supermarket, is now classed as being some sort of normality. However, since Leeds and Reading are now introducing two main stages this year instead of one, it could be changing the festival for the better.
https://twitter.com/OfficialRandL/status/1300492987177238528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Questions remain
The possibility of festivals going ahead this year however, is unclear, especially after the Government announced on 3 March 2021 that the furlough scheme would be extended until 30 September 2021, when the hopes of normality are to start on 21 June 2021. This announcement has left many people questioning if festivals will go ahead this year or if they will have to wait until next.
Whichever way you decide to spend your summer this year, whether this means going to Reading or Leeds or to no festivals at all, I’m sure that you will be happy to have some warmer weather and be out and about again.
Courtney Davies
Featured image courtesy of the author, Courtney Davies. No changes were made to the image.
courtneydaviesjournalism
I am a third year Broadcast Journalism student based in Manchester. I have a passion for journalism in both broadcast and print. I also enjoy making content for social media. I mostly write for the entertainment section of Empoword Journalism about television, music and celebrities.