Those who crave live shows revel in 12-hour shindig
Wang Fuqing, an enthusiastic fan of the Shanghai International Arts Festival, and fellow aficionados queued up for a concert featuring Croatian cellist Ana Rucner at the Shanghai City Lawn Music Plaza last Sunday.
The concert was one of four outdoor performances featured in the 12-Hour Special Activity that day. Other acts included the “Ice Show,” with Norwegian percussionist Terje Isungset and fellow musicians playing on instruments made of ice. A magic show where the magician interacts with the audience was held at Shanghai Great World across the road from the lawn plaza. The show proved to be popular with families.
Admission to performances was free, but tickets for each performance had to be reserved separately.
Wang, a piano teacher, arrived at the lawn at 6:04am, with tickets to all the outdoor performances during the day. Wang said he booked tickets via a phone app.
He said those with bookings had, upon arrival, to print their tickets using a self-service machine next to the entrance. He showed me a photo on his phone, shot in the early morning, of a young volunteer patiently helping elderly ticket holders use the printing machine.
“For us older folks, it’s difficult to book tickets online,” said Wang. “The committee of the arts festival is considerate. If there are vacant seats, the staff will invite seniors to attend performances, even if they haven’t booked tickets.”
Wang brought his own refreshments to the lawn — Chinese flatbread and a vacuum cup for tea. Standing in a queue during an interval, he and other music lovers talked about the performance they had just seen and the one they were about to see.
“There are 15 seats in a row,” said Wang. “Other older folks and I want to sit in the front row. That’s why we queue up for a long time.”
It drizzled a bit during part of the 12-Hour Special Activity, but no one left or opened an umbrella, which would have disturbed other members of the audience. During the interval, workers scurried about cleaning up the lawn area and realigning plastic chairs.
Wang had two suggestions for improving the 12-Hour Special Activity next year.
First, he said it would assist the elderly if chairs were available for those waiting in line. And second, Wang said it would be nice to have a short period after each performance for artists and audiences to interact a bit.