What happened last time Saturday, July 22, RFC Arena in Campovolo. it was the only Harry Styles concert in Italy and the last in Europe after three years of touring, and it began with the touching words of the singer himself, who, almost perfect Italian he started the dance like this:This is a very special end to my tour here., in this country that holds a special place in my heart. I’m so happy to be here tonight. I love this place and its people from the heart“.
Love or passion?
But not only the talent of the English artist or his linguistic abilities have made the whole country chatter these days,the fury of the fans and the almost militaristic queuing for the concertsome last even a month. A month of camping in a tent in Campovolo and beyond, sinister audio frame for web the intention to follow the rules of the queue and not to pass ahead of those who came first, e such a tough ticketing system be the envy of the most sophisticated bureaucratic systems.
In that summer of big concerts – some of which are still the result of missed opportunities due to pandemic We are witnessing events in which fans are organized in such a way that, on the one hand, carefully, and on the other, ruthlesslyto outline and implement a prioritization system for event records.
One might wonder if it was the events that caused so much talk that caused the unleashing on the one hand, laughter and on the other, bewilderment of public opinionas in the case of Campovolo with Harry Styles, not the “unwritten rule” will change from now on concert attendance.
Endless locations lead to endless lines
OUR tours of stadiums, arenas, treadmills or treadmills these are the events that the most fans are waiting for, they are the equivalent of “doing big things” artists or a wedding with 300 guests instead of 30.
Italian stadiums used for concerts can hold up to 80,000 spectators, and in arenas such as the Campovolo arena, it can reach 100,000 people. We tend to choose this type location only when be sure to fill them outfor this reason, not everyone offers this type of life.
Harry Styles sold all those tickets in the blink of an eye last year.when the date for July 2023 came out. And precisely because of the capacity of certain places and sizes are sometimes limitless – as in the case of Campovolo – the point from which you “choose” to attend the performance matters, because you can be 3 meters from the stage or 200.
And who does not remember that he lived at least once – or heard a story about a man who went to a concert stage early in the morning on the day of a date, and then got all those hours of waiting in the sun that felt like an eternityto be able to get to front rows. Well, today this process is not as simple and not as “short” as it used to be. We’re talking about days, not hours, we’re talking about tents, not hotels. or home, we’re talking tough roll calls every few hours, not the old sensible first-come-first-served stuff.
How the singer’s fans organized
Until Saturday, July 22, for the Italian publiclong awaited event Harry Styles has already been gone for months awareness campaign on TikTok and Instagram via @harrystylescampovolo profile who was tasked through several videos to illustrate and update more useful logistical aspects that help at the concert. From advice on where to park to exhibit line-up, as well as walking through the apps that will be used to send sickness alerts to the crowd at the event. Until here, so good. introductory part for such excellent organization and attention to detail.
The fact is that the rest of the preparations for the event seem to have gone beyond even the usual dynamics of waiting for a concert: the symbol of all this are images taken all over the internet about rules to follow while queuing, in addition to those already in line. Very large areas of tent cities and people who are ready to completely transfer their lives to the field adjacent to the Arena, all day longafter all, it was clear that for them being in the forefront of the concert was “a matter of life and death.”
And then, billboard with queue rules. In difficult ticket system which will overshadow the logistics of many Nordic countries, call times for fans, depending on the tickets they collect. At all the indicated hours – four times a day, the first at 9 o’clock and the last at 23 o’clock – it was necessary to appear, without delay, without giving up your place to anyone, with strictness and punctuality under the threat of “disqualification” from the queue.
At the bottom, in large letters, was writtenthe obligation to spend the night in a tent to maintain their positions. You couldn’t go home or spend the night in a hotel that might have been booked months in advance, you had to demonstrate that you “deserved” the front rows through as many inconveniences as possible.
The cartel rules were also translated into Englishto convey a kind “invitation” to the European fans who attended the last date of Harry Styles’ tour as well. All this was conceived by the Italian fan base and was carried out not only by it, apparently, but also with support of guards and security personnel of Campovolo. And this is just one of the most interesting aspects of history: “legalization”, or, in any case, implementation and control exercised by officials over the implementation of a number of strict informal instructions.
Will we see more events like this?
A few days ago, another long-awaited event happened: Boss Concert at the Hippodrome in Monza, on Tuesday 25 July. The place in this case could accommodate about twenty thousand more people than Campovolo, and so it was, given that Bruce Springsteen it filled large parks and arenas around the world, probably long before Harry Styles was born.
Also in this case, he was followed by the most ardent fans an appeals system that started long before the event, during which it was possible to book numbered tickets tied to a place, so that later they could be confirmed with all subsequent requests. The last one was on the day of the concert at 2:00 pm, and those who were not present lost their acquired priority.
It’s obvious that these methods exclude all people from the front rows who, to participate in such an event, no matter how passionate, they cannot leave their other obligations, perhaps family or work, too many days ago concert. One would think that this might partially exclude older age groups and favor younger people who have statistically looser plans.
Let’s see if the organizers will formalize such informal rules. real concerts if they are relaxed, giving equal opportunities to fans with different accessibility, or if they are further tightened. Good news: at the Boss concert in Monza, “make the night” was not mandatory.