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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Ella Glover

‘I get to do whatever I want in the moment’: why more people are going to gigs, festivals and clubs alone

A techno fan dancing at Fuse nightclub in Brussels, bathed in red light
Dance solo … a techno fan at Fuse nightclub in Brussels. Photograph: Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP/Getty Images

From solo travel to dining alone, people have increasingly been embracing social activities by themselves in the years since the pandemic – even in the ultra-social contexts of live music and club culture.

A recent survey by Ticketmaster found that the number of people who have attended either a weekend or day festival by themselves has risen from 8% in 2019 to 29% this year. Reading and Leeds festival introduced a campsite area for solo attendees this year, joining Download’s longstanding “lone wolf” area, and there are a growing number of social media pages such as London Solo Ravers, and WhatsApp groups such as Untitled Rave Community Project, for people venturing to nightclubs alone.

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