May witnessed new trends introduced in the footballing world, as clubs began to navigate through the trials and tribulations of bringing back fans safely.
German Bundesliga football club FC Bayern Munich announced it was going to move to a fully digital ticketing system for the 2021-22 season. Since March 2020, all home games at Bayern’s Allianz Arena had been played without fans due to the pandemic. Mobile tickets and [email protected] tickets, which had been available for a number of years, were to remain and supporters would have a choice.
With the return of live events came the idea of the proof of vaccination against coronavirus. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced it would require attendees to live events to be fully vaccinated from June onwards. Attendees also had to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken at least 48 hours before the event.
With the cancellation of the UK’s famous Glastonbury festival, organisers decided to produce a live streamed event for ticket holders. However, it was marred by technical issues, leaving fans unable to access the show. Glastonbury organisers and technology provider Driift Live decided to open up the coverage for free to everyone after two hours of difficulties.
More good news for sports fans in England, as May’s FA Cup final saw 21,000 fans attend Wembley Stadium to witness the game between Leicester City and Chelsea. It was the largest attendance at an event since the onset of the COIVD-19 pandemic. Leicester and Chelsea were each given 6,250 tickets for the match.
Image: Richard Bartz/CC BY-SA 2.5/Edited for size