If you're a music fan who is really missing the buzz of gigs right now, unfortunately the forecast is looking pretty grim.

Last week, the government issued a ban on mass gatherings of over 5000 people until at least September.

That meant that the Irish summer festival season was pretty much wiped off the calendar for 2020.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_R9t53HEC3/

With that in mind, we thought we'd run a poll to see a) whether people would happily attend a gig with a capacity of less than 5000 people this summer and b) when people would feel comfortable about attending a gig in the future.

More than half of those polled (51%) said that they would not attend a gig this summer, even if the capacity was reduced. 32% said they would happily attend a gig, while 17% said they would consider it - but only if it was outdoors.

Meanwhile, the outlook for what lies ahead seems a little less promising and must prove particularly worrying for promoters and bands who are eager to pick up where they left off.

Although numerous events have been rescheduled to later this year, our poll results suggest that a majority of people (44%) would not feel comfortable about going to a gig until a vaccine for Covid-19 is discovered - whenever that may be.

25% say that they would feel comfortable once the government ban is lifted, while 18% said they would happily go to a gig tomorrow, if they could. 13% did not specify a timeframe.

Of course, this poll is far from scientific and is only a small sample of a few hundred entertainment.ie users. Even so, if it's indicative of the general mood regarding live events, we might be waiting a bit longer than expected to see our favourite bands and artists playing live again - at least touring bands and artists. If punters aren't willing to show up, it doesn't make financial sense to put on a gig.

However, it means that whenever things do get back to 'normal', that first gig will be all the more special.