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  • Writer's pictureJamie-Paige

REPORTAGE ARTICLE

By Jamie-Paige Tucker


Raving in the time of Corona

Want to know what it’s like to go to a Rudimental rave in the middle of a worldwide pandemic? Well it’s pretty similar to a regular rave, except a lot less crowded. Isn’t the point of attending events like this to be covered in other people’s sweat and alcohol? This is difficult to achieve when the whole country is social distancing.


Everyone was in the same mood. Excited. As soon as the DJs came on, it’s like the outside world didn’t exist. All the problems that were happening on the globe vanished for those four hours. Everyone had on their dancing shoes, grooving away to artist after artist, hit after hit. Beer cans in hand and stage lights in their eyes. The atmosphere in the room was practically unexplainable.


After the stage doors close and the hangovers had worn off, fellow raver Olivia Orme had a few things to say about the kind of night she’d had on that Saturday evening. The minute she started talking her face was lit up, she was instantly reminiscing. “I liked the artist, and I liked the music. It was a great way to be social and just release some tension”. But raving is slightly different to what she does in everyday life…


Olivia is known as Liv by friends, and as PC Orme at work. So, hearing about what she wore to a rave whilst being sat in her high vis police jacket was a bit surreal. She said: “It was tricky choosing an outfit, the music is varied, and I wanted what I wore to fit all genres. Which basically means ripped mom jeans and a classic dressy top. The key to all events is to be dressed to all occasions”. But it’s not only about what she wore. It’s about how she lets her hair down. She goes from this crucial worker in our society to just another raver, looking to dance the night away. You would never have known that come Monday morning, she’ll be back in the station. Olivia said, “it’s a contrast to my usual life, and that’s why I love it.”


Having someone with such a serious career, sat opposite you smiling over a rave is not a sight you see every day. However, it was what she was smiling about that was really touching. “It’s about who you go to these things with. I went with my good friends. They made it so easy to organise too. It was a suggestion, then it was a booking and then we were there.” You could tell by the way she was speaking that these friends really meant a lot to her.


Obviously, we had to discuss the dangers of going out at a time like this. A very level-headed response from Olivia, who has had some training based around these uncertain days: “Honestly, it didn’t cross my mind at the time. I feel like it actually got worse in the days post event, but I really wasn’t worried about it at the time. If it had been this weekend I may have reconsidered.”


Covid-19 didn’t only affect this Rudimental event though, it affects many future plans, being a police officer it’s not particularly easy to be flexible when it comes to holiday or time off. Olivia stressed that she was “upset, it’s so nice to have things planned and I love having things to look forward too. Especially working shifts like I do, it’s nice to even have a meal out or a cinema trip to just break the days up. But all that will have to change for a while” However, she later went on to say that “although I’m upset that I’m missing out on my holidays and festivals. I am in a much more fortunate position than others, luckily, I still have a job and I have what I need.”


Being at the Cambridge Junction, in the middle of March during this massive Covid-19 scare, seems a bit reckless. And really it was. In hindsight, deciding to still go wasn’t very clever, and luckily the repercussions were practically non-existent (other than a slight hangover and achy legs from dancing all night). But this doesn’t excuse how dangerous it was to still go. The threat was ever present in the room, everyone just danced around it. Which made it so special. In the news everyone is talking about “community spirt” but I challenge you to find more spirit than what was in that rave venue, that evening. Everyone was together, enjoying the music, and forgetting the world.


Although Olivia seemed positive about our unfortunate near future, not everyone is in the same mindset. The Corona virus is really having a knock on effect on this year’s summer raves and festivals. Many are closing or postponing dates until October to make festival goers feel more at ease. However, there is no guarantee that as a nation will be in any better position by that time. So, is there a possibility that the raving industry is set to collapse after this worldwide pandemic? It seems that people are just as worried about losing their raving opportunities, as they are about catching the virus itself. But does that make us as a collective stupid, or passionate? I think the jury on that is still out, but I know many people are upset that their usual summer plans have been paused. With no real idea when they can be started up again.

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