NYC planning mega-concert to celebrate reopening

New York City is planning a mega-concert in Central Park to celebrate the city’s reopening after more than a year of lockdowns and restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The New York Times reported that the show, tentatively scheduled for Aug. 21, is slated to last three hours and cater to as many as 60,000 attendees, in addition to a worldwide television audience. It will take place on the Great Lawn at Central Park.

The tickets for the show will reportedly be free, with some VIP seating available.

Additionally, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) office said there will be vaccinated and unvaccinated sections, though around 70 percent of the tickets will be distributed to those who are vaccinated, the Times reported.

De Blasio said the concert will be part of a “Homecoming Week” to show that the city is recovering from the pandemic, according to the Times. He is branding the event as a celebration for residents and individuals in the area who may not have visited in some time.

“This concert is going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity,” de Blasio said, according to the Times. “It’s going to be an amazing lineup. The whole week is going to be like nothing you’ve ever seen before in New York City.”

To stage the event, de Blasio has enlisted producer and music-industry icon Clive Davis, according to the newspaper.

The event has not yet confirmed any artists, but Davis, 89, said he wants to see eight “iconic” stars perform at the concert.

The concert will represent a significant moment in the city’s COVID-19 recovery after it emerged as a virus epicenter in the early days of the pandemic.

On June 1, the city recorded no new COVID-19 deaths and posted its lowest rate of coronavirus cases yet, at 0.83 percent.

New York State has been racing to vaccinate its residents. As of Monday, more than 66 percent of the state’s total population had received at least one vaccine dose, according to the state’s COVID-19 vaccine tracker.

New York State has implemented a voluntary vaccine passport, called the Excelsior Pass.

As of the last week of May, approximately 1.1 million passes had been issued since the program launched in March.