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‘There Needs To Be A Will To Go Back To The Roots’: Inside Switzerland’s Blausee Concerts
– Patent Ochsner performed six nights in total at Blausee.
The band accepted a club fee, which allowed the promoters to turn a proft.
Swiss promoter Gadget abc Entertainment Group AG, part of the CTS Eventim family, worked alongside Chili Productions, promoters of Seaside Festival, to realize a series of six concerts at one of the most scenic locations in Switzerland: Blausee in the Kander Valley.
The project, which demonstrated how live events can be realized safely while still making a profit, was managed by Gadget’s Christof Huber, who also runs Openair St.Gallen, and Philippe Cornu, as well as Sacha Altermatt, Cornu’s partner in Seaside Festival.
– A spectacular setting.
Blausee is the only privately-owned lake in Switzerland.
Blausee as a concert location first entered Cornu’s mind last autumn, when he attended an event on site. It didn’t take long for a vision to form in his mind: a stage in the middle of the lake, on which bands perform in front of the most scenic backdrop imaginable.
Then came Corona, which made him forget about the idea. At first.
When it became clear that the world wouldn’t return to normal anytime soon, Cornu and his colleagues started thinking about event concepts that could be realized in line with the Covid mandates imposed by the Swiss government.
This was seven weeks ago. “We though, it must be possible to host 1,000 people in different sectors,” Cornu told Pollstar.
Blausee is Switzerland’s only privately-owned lake, and its owners were on board with the idea right from the start. That’s when the team started to flesh out what had up to this point just been a fantasy.
1,000 people hosted across four different sectors, all equipped with their own food and beverage offerings as well as toilets. Depending on the ticket, visitors entering the premise would be guided along different paths into their respective sectors. The hotel and restaurant on site would be used as VIP area, alongside a Golden Circle with a premium F&B offering right on the lake as well as two regular sectors.
The backstage area would be set up behind the hotel, around an organic trout farm, including a slight whiff of fresh fish in the air. The way onto the stage would lead along the idyllic river Kander. It’s a “primeval and wild setting,” according to Cornu.
The team approached the local authorities with their event and safety concept. The responsible politician Ariane Nottaris took a close look and said something along the lines of: “I cannot believe that I’m saying this, but let’s do it. It’s outside, the safety concept holds water it’ll work,” Cornu remembered.
The fate of events and, indeed, the entire live trade, is contingent on political decisions at the moment, even though it is the promoters, who have all the experience in crowd management and safety. Therefore, the fate Nottaris had in the organizers of the Blausee concerts cannot be overstated, in particular in light of several big sponsors refusing to get involved in an event that could, potentially, reflect back on them negatively.
– It felt good to be at a live event again.
“You could really observe how people got comfortable being close to each other,” said Cornu.
“On the other hand,” Cornu explained, “we had lots of smaller companies, who immediately pledged their support. We might not have found a presenting partner, but the many smaller sponsors and media partners made it work.”
With Patent Ochsner, Gadget abc was able to secure one of Switzerland’s most well known and successful rock acts. Onsale started four weeks prior to the first show, Sept. 8. All of the initial four shows through Sept. 11 sold out within minutes, which is why two more dates, Sept. 13-14, were added – and sold out soon as well.
Each night’s capacity was 1,000. Guests had to register their personal details via app. “We were wondering, would people even buy tickets. How widespread is the Corona fear? 20 minutes into the onsale we knew our worries had been unfounded. In the end, all six nights sold out 1,000 tickets each,” Cornu recalled.
The access paths to the lake lead guests through the untouched nature of the Bernese Highlands, rocks overgrown with moss, ancient trees. “The paths were illuminated at night, we has installed speakers to accompany the guests with music on their way home,” Cornu explained.
“You could really observe how people got comfortable being close to each other, thinking, ‘we’re out here in nature, I don’t need a mask, there’s no need to be separated’.”
The promoters left it up to the people to decide whether they wanted to wear a face covering, in particular when making their way into their food and beverage sectors, however, there was no obligation to wear it during the concert.
“It allowed for a bit of normality to resurface, and you could feel it among the visitors, among the band, among ourselves. It is this unburdened feeling of experiencing something together, live, we’ve missed so much,” said Cornu.
– The venue was divided into four sectors.
Which meant that 300 people max gathered per sector.
The feedback from the audience, so far, has been “incredible,” according to Cornu, who rememberers one guest in particular, who wrote: “You’ve restored my entire summer with one evening.”
“When I first called one of our sponsors, who also supports our festivals, to tell him about our idea, he said, ‘I already got goosebumps. We’re in.’ Just by hearing what it could be,” Cornu recalled.
The forced summer downtime allowed Cornu to rediscover the stunning Swiss countryside and go on a summer vacation for the first time in 30 years of working in this business. “I went on the first summer holiday with my kids, which was great. But to experience this emotional moment, with a band, whose songs have accompanied so many people’s lives for so many years, was beautiful and special,” he said.
And it generated a profit. Thanks to the band accepting their usual club fee, which was appropriate given the capacity, and above average ticket prices. Regular tickets went for CHF95 ($105) instead of what would usually have been CHF55 ($60) for a club show by a band of Patent Ochsner’s caliber. The two VIP categories, which included a seated or standing dinner, went for CFH165 ($182) and CHF185 ($204). respectively.
Cornu said the ticket prices were never an issue. People decided to treat themselves to this one night, for many the only concert they’ll see in 2020 – and in quite a magical setting at that.
Combined with support from sponsors, a beer supplier, a low-key production that managed without giant LED screens, and the goodwill of everyone involved, the team managed to offset the costs of providing a much greater hospitality offering than one would expect at a 1,000-cap event, as well as added security personnel.
– Patent Ochsner’s lead singer Büne Huber.
He vowed not to utter the name of the virus.
Guests were encouraged to arrive early and have dinner on site. Pre-event communication also included all relevant information about the Covid procedures, app registration and appropriate clothing for a concert under open skies in the Swiss mountains.
Cornu praised Patent Ochsner in particular for agreeing to the terms, as well as performing six nights in a row. “It brought the singer to his limits. You need bands that are up for this, because you cannot meet every technical demand, cost-intensive things like LED walls and visuals, with concepts like these.
“There needs to be a willingness to go back to the roots, and to make music together again. You don’t need the highest technical standards to realize that,” Cornu explained.
While many promoters have been putting on events just to keep the spirit of live going while taking a loss, the Blausee concerts were more than just “nice to have,” according to Cornu, “It’s a model that allows you to pay the band a fair fee, pay all the staff, and even put something into the bank.”
Swiss television recorded the entire event, including the safety concept, and broadcast it nationwide, “to help send a positive signal and demonstrate: it is possible. It’s not possible with 10,000 or 20,000 people at an open-air festival yet, but there are ways. Ways that bring joy and satisfaction, without restrictions that create a surreal atmosphere.”
The band’s lead singer Büne Huber sated at the beginning of each show that he wouldn’t even mention the virus. “We might have to live with it, but I won’t vocalize it,” Cornu relayed. “The negative vibes that currently resonate with a lot of people were just gone. The positivity of experiencing that it can be done will carry further into the daily lives of all the people who were present. They might decide to do a Christmas dinner after all, they’ll just have it outside, sat around a fire.”
– Divers were hired to place the stage on the lake.
The team rowed out to the stage each day to check it was still stable.
According to Cornu, the immediate future of events lies outdoors, even in winter. The wardrobes of the Swiss people are equipped for brisk nights anyways. “At least until we know more, until freedoms return, which doesn’t seem likely at the moment,” he said.
It’s much tougher to get people together indoors while adhering to distancing mandates. “Parties in a club will continue to be tough to realize, which will also bring the economic problems to the forefront. But these six concerts have motivated us to promote more things like that next year,” said Cornu.
One way of maybe double the capacity would be to create more sectors of similar size, but he doesn’t dare think about anything bigger right now. The guidance from the Swiss government is unclear. While the sports and hospitality sectors have been given guidelines – stadiums, for instance, will be allowed to operate at two-thirds of capacity from October – no solutions for large open-air events without seating have been put forward.
Cornu wants bands, who are eager to tour again, and willing to partake in the Blausee concept, which effectively amounts to a mini-residency but for a club fee, to come forward.
Said Cornu, “Passenger, for example, would be the kind of artist, who’s perfect for this concept. For certain bands, our stage simply isn’t big enough, accommodating their technical requirements would make the event economically unviable. But if the will is there, you can achieve a lot.”