Large events will be allowed soon, but will people show up?
On 12 August 2020 the Federal Council announced that from October, large events with more than a thousand participants would be allowed again. This was another round of easing the Covid-19 restrictions imposed in March. Many companies, sports clubs and event organisers were relieved to finally see light at the end of the tunnel.
But just because large events are allowed does not mean people will attend them. The number of daily new Covid-19 cases had been rising for weeks, and many, though not all, people in Switzerland still tried to avoid large gatherings. A U.S. study shows that reopening restaurants after lockdowns led customers to believe it was safe to eat out again. Allowing large events may send a similar signal of safety. So did the announcement change people's minds?
With trendEcon we can see how Google search frequencies evolved over the past days, weeks and months. As keywords we use Festival, Tickets kaufen (buy tickets), Hallenstadion (a Zurich venue), Letzigrund (a Zurich stadium) and Konzert (concert). For none of them do the data show a positive impact of the announcement. Swiss people did not rush to find events and buy tickets. There are many possible reasons: people remained worried about the virus, the perceived economic situation was still worse than before the pandemic, and organisers themselves hesitated to plan for 2020. The Hallenstadion Zurich listed only seven events for the rest of the year.
The coming weeks would show whether demand for large events picked up as Switzerland approached the October relaunch. If not, that light at the end of the tunnel might not be too bright after all.