Brief summary of the stream with RfP director, Michal Thomes.
Covid-19 is raging, how are you experiencing it as an organizer of RfP?
I’m slightly nervous about the current situation but I try to keep a dose of optimism, in the 26 years with RfP we have experienced various situations and I am not scared of anything immediately, although this is a new situation and there is a lot of uncertainty around. Like everyone, we expect what will happen, whether the date will be moved or the bands will cancel the tour.
This year we have also for the first time moved the date of the festival to June so that we can bring Green Day. The festival was completely sold out for the first time already in January – a thing which no other Czech festival has ever achieved so soon.
What concerns this year’s date a decision has not yet been made, we are communicating with bands‘ agents, intensive negotiations are taking place, including the FESTAS festival association, we all are nervous. Moreover, the approach of individual countries to the pandemic is different, so the situation in Europe will continue to influence us and scheduled tours will take place accordingly. We’re in touch with Green Day’s agent, we’re a bit of an anomaly because we managed to book all the artists such of Hella Mega Tour – Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer for different days.
• Can you imagine moving the date to September, is that feasible?
Anything is possible, the situation is good in one thing – it does not put agents and promoters against each other since we are all on the same page and we have a great deal of effort to handle the situation together. Under normal conditions, agents are very strict when the band is prepaid. We all are invested in this also economically. The question is whether moving the date to September is a solution. September can be cold, not ideal for a summer festival, I’m talking directly about us, we rely on camping, people spend time with us. But the situation may develop, we are in tow of events that we cannot influence.
• How does the situation affect the job market in the music business?
It affects suppliers of technology, sanitary items, tents, a wide range of people – stage managers, hostesses, accommodation providers, transportation companies … it is a huge hit. It shows how important this sector is for the economy. FESTAS – Czech festival association alone accounts for billions in a single season.
