Head of concert hall association blasts restrictions: 'Young people will find other ways of going out'

Catalonia's nightlife and culture sectors have reacted to the news of additional Covid-19 restrictions, announced by authorities on Monday evening in an effort to halt the spread of the virus, with surprise and disappointment.

If greenlighted by the High Court, nightclubs will not be allowed to open from Thursday at midnight, while theaters, as well as other cultural venues, will have 70% capacity limits. In addition to this, there will be a 10-person cap on gatherings, a 1 am to 6 am curfew, and restaurants will have a 50% indoor capacity limit.

Lluís Torrents, who heads the ASACC Catalan concert halls associations and manages Barcelona's legendary Razzmatazz live music venue and nightclub, is not happy.

"We were expecting measures, if things got complicated, which would make everyone slow down a bit, like in Portugal or the Netherlands," Torrents admitted. But he disagrees with the new restrictions, which he sees as targeting "culture, music, and young people who already have enough problems as it is."

Torrents is convinced this will "not be the solution." According to him, "it will only affect 10% of the population. Activities will continue, people will get around on the metro, will go to dinner, etc. Figures will not drop and venues could still be closed for months." 

He also believes that "young people will find other ways of going out" that could "be out of control."

Meanwhile, Isabel Vidal, the president of the ADECTA theater company association, called the government's announcement "unexpected," describing the 70% capacity limit as "very harsh."

Vidal told the Catalan News Agency that she had been hoping for a Covid health pass entry requirement rather than a capacity limit because "all safety measures are complied with inside theaters and face masks are worn."

As the Christmas holiday season is usually a good one for ticket sales, Vidal fears the new measure will be a blow to their earnings and called on authorities to provide aid to affected businesses.