MANILA - Concert halls were allowed to reopen in areas under Alert Level 2, according to the most recent guidelines released by the government's task force against COVID-19.

If indoors, these are allowed to operate up to 50 percent capacity for fully vaccinated individuals and those below 18, even if unvaccinated.

Outdoor venues, meanwhile, were allowed to accommodate up to 70 percent of their capacity.

• Here's what COVID-19 Alert Level 2 means

But for Rhiza Pascua, CEO of MMI Live, she would rather hold concerts again when venues are permitted to use their full capacity of about 10,000, a sentiment she shares with some performers.

"Most of the artists said they’d rather wait until they can perform to 100-percent capacity, rather than perform at a venue that is half-empty. You can say half-full, but it’s still half," she told ABS-CBN News.

Pascua's MMI Live is a 25-year old company which has brought to the Philippines acts such as Coldplay, One Direction, U2, Bruno Mars, and Harry Styles. They were supposed to hold concerts for Green Day, Tori Kelly, and Billie Eilish in 2020, but these were rescheduled due to quarantine restrictions during the pandemic.

She said the company lost about P150 million in ticket sales and sponsorships in 2020. It was supposed to be "better" than 2019, which had been "a good year" for them.

"At first, we tried to reschedule because we didn’t know it was going to take this long. This was the first quarter of the year, so sabi namin maybe it will be after the first half of the year. So second half of the year. Pero hindi pa rin. So we scheduled for 2021, this year. Nung nakita namin na lumalala, the numbers, there was not enough vaccine rollout, sabi namin, let’s just reschedule for 2022. So we’re very, very hopeful for 2022," she said.

(At first, we tried to reschedule because we didn’t know it was going to take this long. This was the first quarter of the year, so we said maybe it will be after the first half of the year, so second half of the year. But it still wasn't. So we scheduled for 2021, this year. When we saw that it was worsening, the numbers, there was not enough vaccine rollout, we said, let's just reschedule for 2022. So we're very, very hopeful for 2022.)

WILL SELL ONLY TO THE VACCINATED; SAFETY PROTOCOLS IN PLACE

Pascua said she had spoken with a fellow promoter, and they pitched a campaign that emphasized that vaccination would be "ticket to the next concert."

She said her rule is she won't even sell concert tickets to the unvaccinated.

"Kasi on the day of the show, high na high na sila na manonood sila ng show, excited na, tapos biglang meron ka palang rule doon na hindi pala nila alam. So dapat sa selling pa lang, alam na nila," she said.

(Because on the day of the show, they would be so excited, and they'll find out there a rule that they did not know beforehand. So at the selling itself, they should know.)

Concertgoers must present proof of their vaccination along with a valid ID upon entry, she said. Inside the venue, Pascua said there must be a temperature check, hand sanitation stations every 6 feet, and contactless purchase of food and drinks. She also said the venues are to be sanitized by a third party.

"Also, I would like to request sana more public transportation in the concert venue vicinity para hindi nagsisiksikan sa public transportation 'yung mga tao," she added.

(Also, I would like to request for more public transportation in the concert venue vicinity to better manage crowds.)

Although wearing masks for hours-long concerts may feel "weird," Pascua said "it’s better than nothing" as she emphasized that some COVID-19 variants are found to be airborne.

HYBRID EVENTS: ONLINE AND OFFLINE CONCERTS

With indoor events places temporarily shut, online concerts bloomed, and one platform that helped advance this in the Philippines was KTX. What once was a small-time ticketing portal for ABS-CBN live events became the leading virtual venue for concerts, movies, and other events during the lockdown.

• A year in lockdown: The rise of KTX, once due to close, as a leading virtual venue

Gian Carlo Vizcarra, head of business development and operations of KTX, recalled that Daniel Padilla's October 2020 online concert "encouraged" many more organizers to pivot to the digital space.

"Sinasabi nga nila, 'yung concert can earn more than a concert in Araneta kasi mas maliit ang prod cost etc," he told ABS-CBN News in a separate interview.

(They said a concert can earn more than a concert in Araneta because the production cost is smaller.)

After the success of Padilla's concert, concerts such as Regine Velasquez’s "Freedom," Sarah Geronimo’s "Tala," Vice Ganda’s "Gandemic," and SB19’s "Back in the Zone" were also sold through KTX.

Vizcarra hopes even with the new normal in sight for live events, KTX can still serve as an avenue to connect people from all over the world.

"We hope to continue to bridge everybody together kasi 'yun na 'yung naging core ng KTX (because that's what came to be KTX's core)—to service everybody, to provide them entertainment and content wherever they are through ticketed events," he said.

"Ngayon, we have options: kung wala ka sa Maynila, kung nasa Cavite ka or nasa Bulacan ka, puwede mong panoorin ‘yan sa bahay mo. Or kung gusto mong pumunta sa Araneta, ok lang din. At the very least, we see that people have more options...The power resides in them already: kung saan mo gusto, dun mo i-enjoy 'yung content," he added.

(Now, we have options: if you're not in Manila, if you're in Cavite or Bulacan, you can watch it at home. Or if you want to go to Araneta, that's okay, too. At the very least, we see that people have more options...The power resides in them already: enjoy the content wherever you want to.)

He said "hybrid events" have been lined up but are yet to be announced.

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Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv