Singaporean promoters will be able to stage indoor shows of up to 750 people with no social distancing, provided all attendees can produce a negative Covid-19 test or proof of vaccination against the disease, from 24 April.

Under the next stage of lockdown easing, organisers of live performances at designated venues will be permitted to admit up to 750 attendees with pre-event testing, or 250 without, the Straits Times reports. At press time, Singapore had just 24 new cases of Covid-19, all of which came into the city-state with foreigners who have now been ordered to self-isolate.

Government-approved pilot events, including sports fixtures and business conferences, will also be allowed to have 750 people from the same date, or 250 without testing. Formerly, business-to-business events were limited to 250 attendees, divided into zones of 50.

The pilot conferences and sports events follow Singapore’s first test concerts, held in partnership with the country’s ministry of health and promoted by AEG Presents, which took place just before Christmas.

A sister classical music event with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra received a more muted reception, according to the Times, with many classical music fans decided not to attend because they didn’t want to undergo pre-event testing, which they feared would be uncomfortable.

While smaller venues should be able to make the 250/750-person capacity limit work, some event organisers are hopeful they will be permitted to go beyond 750 people by the summer months.

The Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, which organises the annual Sing.Lang festival of Singaporean-Chinese pop music, has asked to have more than 750 attendees at the 2021 event, which takes place in June. Its director of programmes, Lee Ee Wurn, says the centre is planning to stage the concert at the 12,000-seat Singapore Indoor Stadium and is hoping for the largest possible audience.

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