Daniel Colling, president of the operating companies of the Zenith of Paris, Nantes and Toulouse, said he was relieved on Wednesday February 16 on franceinfo of the resumption of standing concerts, but “it will take some time for the public to return to normal habits”with 20% to 30% fewer tickets sold until June.
franceinfo: Is it a day of relief for you?
Daniel Colling: Completely. The Prime Minister’s remarks last month clarified the situation completely. For two years, we hardly did any concerts. There he lifted the permissions. From tonight, we can do shows with a standing audience, which is our particularity. Producers and artists were able to permanently stall shows that were continually being postponed or canceled.
Have the concerts been rescheduled or are there pure cancellations?
Both. In the coming months, we will have postponements that have been made two or three times, shows that are also canceled.
“The Zénith de Paris, in particular, presents a number of international shows, and most of them are postponed to 2023 because they depend on sanitary standards in other countries.”
Daniel Colling, president of the operating companies of the Zeniths of Paris, Nantes and Toulouseat franceinfo
As they are on a European tour, the problems of French standards are not the same as in Belgium, Holland, etc. So most American or Anglo-Saxon artists have postponed their tour.
February 16 is a symbolic date: is the recovery more gradual?
Yes. We are going to offer a large number of shows, more in 2022 than before the pandemic, in 2018 or 2019. We are adding new entries and postponements, but at least until June, these shows are less frequented, we sell fewer tickets than usual. It will take some time for the public to return to normal habits. We are currently at -20% or -30% potential audience. If all goes well for the fall, we expect to return to normal attendance.