Thousands of revellers are attending Ireland’s first live music festival in almost 16 months.
The pilot event at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin saw 3,500 people antigen tested and split into pods of up to six for the show.
Gavin James, Denise Chaila, Wild Youth, Wyvern Lingo, Lyra and Sharon Shannon are among the acts taking to the stage.
“It’s amazing, it’s great to be back like. It’s great to have four pints of overpriced beer in your hand,” one attendee told Newstalk radio.
#pilotevent #Kilmainhamhospital #imma @mcd_productions @DeptCulturelRL pic.twitter.com/mUR7o5tRKk
— Aerial.ie (@aerial_ie) July 3, 2021
Admittedly I’m not a big Wild Youth listener, but their excitement level to be back on stage has been at 100 since they set foot on that stage and it’s INFECTIOUS #PilotFestival #pilotevent pic.twitter.com/NWTKKG5TqS
— Ruairí Egan☀️ (@leimthart) July 3, 2021
Another attendee said: “It’s been a massive hobby of me and all my friend group, it’s what we do every weekend, so to not have that for over 16 months, it’s amazing to have it back.”
The event was hosted by Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) in conjunction with MCD Productions.
The show was hosted by The 2 Johnnies, with up to 500 frontline healthcare workers and their friends receiving a reserve allocation of tickets.
Gates are open as we welcome our first guests into the Pilot Festival at RHK. @DeptCulturelRL@cathmartingreen@Dept_ECC #PilotEvent pic.twitter.com/g6YWlcDjdj
— MCD Productions (@mcd_productions) July 3, 2021
Ahead of the event, Minister for Culture and Arts Catherine Martin said its purpose was to “build the road back to the safe and full recovery of live music and sporting events and establish confidence in the guidance and event management protocols developed for the sector.”
“The use of antigen tests is to help consider the logistics as a means to gaining entry to live events as the sector reopens,” she said.
The music festival is one of a series of pilot cultural and sporting events taking place in June and July.
