Ontario music venues get clearance to hold standing shows, operate at full capacity
Ontario's live music venues can get concertgoers back onto their feet after a sudden change in the province's COVID-19 guidelines.
As part of a broader decision to remove capacity limits at outdoor, organized public events, a representative for the provincial government confirmed Thursday that indoor concert venues will no longer be subject to seated restrictions and can operate at full capacity.
The Canadian Live Music Association adds that the easing of rules means venues that hold "general admission" shows -- or concerts that are largely standing room only -- can return to something closer to business as usual about two weeks earlier than planned.
However, the association's chief executive Erin Benjamin notes concertgoers will still be required to show proof of vaccination and wear masks inside the venue.
The latest change comes after some live venues opted to install temporary seating earlier this month so they could move forward with planned concerts under rules that required all concerts to be seated.
But changes to the guidelines were already in the works -- concert venues were originally lumped in with a loosening of restrictions on nightclubs, strip clubs, bathhouses and sex clubs that goes into effect Nov. 15.
Benjamin says venues will now have to consider what to do with live shows booked for the coming weeks in standing-only spaces they reconfigured for seats. Holding a show with chairs often reduces capacity by about half, according to some venue operators.
"I know some of us are going to stay with seated shows (for) all the seated shows on the calendar right now and then go back to business as normal just because they've done so much work with seating plans and purchasing seats," she says.
"But they now have the choice and they will do what they feel is in the best interest of the show."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
ANALYSIS Will Donald Trump go to prison? What the precedent says
Now that the jury in Donald Trump's criminal trial has made the historic decision to convict him, the judge overseeing the case will soon face a monumental choice: whether to sentence the 2024 Republican presidential candidate to time behind bars.
Can Trump come to Canada now that he's a convicted felon?
A Canadian immigration lawyer says now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, he is technically barred from crossing the border into Canada.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.
A pair enjoyed pricey meals and bolted when it was time to pay. Their dine and dash ended in jail
A Welsh couple who dined out on pricey meals and bolted when the bill came is now paying the price, behind bars.
Montreal tech billionaire charged with several sex offences
Robert Miller was charged Thursday with several sexual assault charges after Montreal police reopened an investigation into the tech billionaire.
Loblaw testing out small-format No Frills grocery stores
Loblaw is testing smaller-format discount stores across the country this year as shoppers increasingly look for ways to save on their grocery bill.
Here's what you should know about Donald Trump's conviction in his hush money trial
Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts marks the end of the former president’s historic hush money trial, but the fight over the case is far from over.
Doomsday plot: Jury convicts Idaho man of killing wife and girlfriend's 2 children
An Idaho man was convicted Thursday of killing his wife and his new girlfriend's two youngest kids in a strange triple murder case that included claims of apocalyptic prophesies, zombie children and illicit affairs.
Russian missiles kill 4 in Kharkiv after Biden OKs a Ukrainian response using U.S. weapons
Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment block in Kharkiv and killed at least four people in a night-time attack, Ukrainian officials said Friday, a day after U.S. President Joe Biden gave Kyiv a green light to strike back with American weapons at Russian military assets targeting the country's second-largest city.