Thousands attend post-lockdown Chinese festival at Wuhan waterpark

Thousands of music fans attended a festival held at a waterpark in the Chinese province of Wuhan over the weekend – check out footage below.

Wuhan was where the coronavirus originated late last year, and the province had been under a strict lockdown for most of 2020.

• Read more: What will 2020’s “pandemic-proof” music festival season look like?

The festival, held at the Wuhan Maya Beach Water Park, saw fans enjoy DJ sets and more, with many watching while in the water and sitting on inflatables.

The waterpark has had its capacity capped to 50% since it reopened in June following Wuhan’s lockdown. The city-wide lockdown was first lifted in April, and no new cases from within China have been reported since the middle of May.

Photos of the event show no masks being worn or social distancing measures being employed.

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WUHAN WAVE ? Thousands attend an outdoor rave over the weekend in a water park in Wuhan, China as restrictions ease after almost 8 months of strict lockdown, hazard, and precautionary measures were in place. It’s the first festival of its kind China has seen since the pandemic began. #beautifulchaos

A post shared by BEAUTIFUL CHAOS (@beautifulchaostv) on Aug 18, 2020 at 9:03am PDT

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Miles de ciudadanos chinos hicieron caso omiso al #coronavirus y participaron en una macrofiesta de música tecno en un parque acuático en #Wuhan, donde surgió el #covid19 a finales del 2019 Tras haber sido sometida a una estricta cuarentena de 76 días entre enero y abril, siendo la primera ciudad en que se aplicaban estas medidas por el nuevo #coronavirus, la metrópolis de Wuhan (centro de China) fue levantando progresivamente las restricciones y volvió a la normalidad. El Maya Beach Water Park se llenó de gente y miles de personas bailaron apretujadas al ritmo de la música electrónica, sin utilizar mascarillas El parque acuático volvió a abrir sus puertas en junio y tiene su capacidad limitada al 50%, según la prensa local, pero redujo el precio de sus entradas al 50% para las mujeres Aunque el virus surgió en China, este país logró controlar la pandemia y ahora solo cuenta con unas pocas decenas de nuevos casos diarios, según los últimos datos oficiales Muchos ciudadanos chinos continúan limitando sus desplazamientos y llevan mascarillas en el espacio público, pero la municipalidad de Wuhan intenta reimpulsar su economía, muy fragilizada por los efectos de la epidemia a principios de año Fuente: AFP

A post shared by Diario El Comercio de Ecuador (@elcomerciocom) on Aug 17, 2020 at 11:31am PDT

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Awake yet? Wuhan, China, where the virus originated, is already getting back to normal while we have people scared to drive alone in their cars without a mask on. OPEN UP! VIDEO: ?? Crowds packed out a water park over the weekend in the central Chinese city of #Wuhan, where the #coronavirus first emerged late last year, keen to party as the city edges back to normal life https://t.co/SJFBmx5sU8

A post shared by #QAnon (@wwg1wga_) on Aug 18, 2020 at 4:38am PDT

The UK, meanwhile, held its first official large-scale socially distanced gigs this week, with Sam Fender opening up the Virgin Money Unity Arena in Newcastle.

“Fans watch in groups of five from 500 individual platforms set metres apart – the venue has been specially created to bring a bit of joy back into our lives,” an NME review of the gig said.

Fender, speaking to NME after the show, added: “I hope that it can keep going because people are dying for live music and I’m happy to play in whatever capacity we possibly can until this all blows over.

“There was only 2500 people in a space that would usually fit 20,000 and it still felt enormous because people were screaming louder than they usually would and they needed it. It’s wonderful, so I hope we can keep it going.”