Ticketmaster Events Won’t Require Proof Of Vaccination, COVID Test To Attend

Ticketmaster, which handles off-site ticket sales for a huge portion of the country’s music and sports events, is developing a system to assess fans’ Covid-19 vaccination and testing status but will let local promoters set standards for attendance, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Ticketmaster President Mark Yovich outlined the policy in a statement the company provided to media outlets after a number of news organizations published articles that appeared to be based on inaccurate readings of a Billboard Magazine article that reported the company was developing technology to help determine whether ticket-purchasers had been vaccinated against Covid-19 or tested negative for having the disease.

No vaccine is yet available.

“We imagine there will be many third-party health care providers handling vetting — whether that is getting a vaccine, taking a test, or other methods of review and approval — which could then be linked via a digital ticket so everyone entering the event is verified,” Yovich said in the statement. “Ticketmaster’s goal is to provide enough flexibility and options that venues and fans have multiple paths to return to events, and is working to create integrations to our API and leading digital ticketing technology as we will look to tap into the top solutions based on what’s green-lit by officials and desired by clients.”

Ticketmaster reportedly said: “There is absolutely no requirement from Ticketmaster mandating vaccines/testing.”

Other articles quoted Ticketmaster representatives as having said promoters would establish attendance requirements based on local health regulations.

While a vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has shown great promise, implementation will require overcoming significant hurdles. That timeframe will be important for businesses, according to PYMNTS.com research and accompanying analyses which found that 48.8 percent of American consumers don’t plan to return to previous shopping patterns until they’ve been vaccinated.