A poll of 2,000 adults found 53 per cent plan to attend a live event this summer, spending an average of £297 per person.
Across the UK adult population of 52.7 million people, the enormous figure of billions will be a huge boost to the live industry.
According to the research from Barclaycard Entertainment, Brits also say they’d be willing to travel almost 84 miles to attend their favourite live event, the equivalent of 3.2 billion miles racked up across the UK.
In fact, eventgoers are so keen to reignite their love of live that almost one in five (19 per cent) would travel over 100 miles to catch their favourite acts.
The average live entertainment fan has already purchased tickets to five events with nearly three in 10 (27 per cent) buying tickets to favourite acts they’ve seen before as they’ve missed them so much during lockdown.
A fifth (20 per cent) are even eyeing up events they wouldn’t usually go to because they’re so excited to get back in front of a stage and 16 per cent aim to see new artists they discovered online during the pandemic.
Daniel Mathieson, head of sponsorship at Barclaycard said: “We always suspected it, but it’s clear we are a nation of live entertainment lovers and with that in mind, we are so pleased to see how committed Brits are to making up for lost time.
“It goes without saying that this year has been incredibly challenging for the industry and those that love to support it.
“We want to help people celebrate their ‘love of live’ so are offering a number of perks, such as discounts on food and drink at festivals this summer, as well as providing access to exclusive pre-sales and discounts on tickets across the rest of the year.”
In spite of this excitement to relish live acts in real life, 45 per cent of event-loving Brits feel out of practice after more than a year of cancelled gigs, festivals and theatre.
Almost half (49 per cent) fear they have forgotten how it feels to be in a big crowd, just under a third (32 per cent) worry they’ve lost their rhythm and can no longer dance and 28 per cent can’t remember how to put up a tent.
Gigs (23 per cent) and festivals (19 per cent) are where live loving Brits feel most out of practice after 12 months without flexing their musical muscles.
In fact, four in 10 (42 per cent) worry they could be at risk from a number of new festival ailments coined by Barclaycard Entertainment.
More than one in 10 (12 per cent) fear they might to succumb to ‘chant throat’, a jaw and mouth disorder incurred by singing and shouting, and just under a tenth are readying themselves for ‘welly knee’ as they trudge through the infamous muddy fields of the UK.
Other ailments include ‘festival forehead’ caused by dehydration, and ‘tent elbow’ – which affects those trying to get dressed horizontally in a too-small tent.
To help Brits limber up and get ready for live entertainment, Barclaycard teamed up with Mr Motivator to create a warm-up routine for those out-of-practise.
Moves are designed to ease bodies back into live entertainment ‘exercise’ and protect against on site soreness.
Mr Motivator said: “The atmosphere at festivals and the sound of live entertainment are great for the soul and release those happy hormones which provide so many wonderful benefits, such as reducing stress levels and improving your overall mood.
“A happy mind, a fit body and a happy life in unison is what we should all strive for.
“For years, I’ve performed on-stage workouts across the UK to help people get into the festival spirit, but this year is different, and we need to put in the prep before we even get to the field.
“I hope this workout gets people set for the summer and a deluge of incredible live performances.”
THE AFFLICTIONS GIG-GOERS ARE WORRIED ABOUT THIS SUMMER:
Chant throat – an affliction resulting from singing and shouting too loudly (12 per cent)
Queue ear – an affliction from straining to hear a friend speaking in the queue (11 per cent)
Summer shoulder – soreness of the shoulder from raising your hands to live music, or from having a friend sit on your shoulders (nine per cent)
Carb coma – a fatigue from a diet that consist of mainly carbohydrates (nine per cent)
Welly knee – an aching of the knee from footwear designed for comfort over waterproofing (nine per cent)
Festival forehead – a skin condition as a result of dehydration (seven per cent)
Carnival Core – an affliction to the abdomen from attempting dance moves beyond your ability (seven per cent)
Tent elbow – from suspending your body to get dressed horizontally in a tent (six per cent)
