The Salzburg Festival has announced that its 2021 edition will take place without seating capacity limitations.

The festival announced that due to the expected vaccination rate of the audience (at Whitsun, more than 60 percent of visitors were already vaccinated) and the broad availability of tests, significant easements can be implemented compared to last year.

In a statement, Executive Director Lukas Crepaz said, “We are delighted to present the centenary celebrations of the Salzburg Festival this year without major restrictions. Last year, we proved that even during the pandemic, the Festival could safely take place, and we are highly confident that this will again be the case this year. The current prevention plan is continuously adapted to reflect current developments, in cooperation with our council of expert advisers. We have a whole repertoire of possible measures, enabling us to react even to unfortunate developments.”

Audience members will have personalized tickets in order to enable authorities to carry out rapid contact tracing in case of infections and groups of visitors of up to four persons, the name of the purchaser will be sufficient if the group enters the performance venue together. Picture ID will be required.

The festival announced that all Summer Festival events will take place with an interval and refreshments will be offered for purchase.

Additionally, only persons who have been tested, vaccinated, or have recovered may enter the Salzburg Festival performance venues. The festival will no longer require mandatory mask-wearing. However, wearing at least a simple facemask is explicitly recommended when moving within the performance venues.