While the COVID-19 pandemic has touched virtually every aspect of our day-to-day lives, its impact on the performing arts has been especially significant. At the height of the pandemic, many theatres and other venues were closed, including all Broadway theatres in the U.S., and London’s West End theatres, resulting in substantial financial losses.

As restrictions loosened and theatres across the globe began to reopen, the challenge then was how to begin successfully and safely welcoming patrons back into performances. Researchers in the Netherlands created an optimization model that was implemented by the Music Building Eindhoven (MBE), enabling the venue to ultimately return to 70% total capacity for an evening’s performances, resulting in significant financial benefit.

Joining me to share their research, how the team came together, and the impact of their work once implemented is Frits Spieksma with the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands.