It might be a while until this happens again

Last week saw the announcement that next month’s a-ha tour in Japan will be rescheduled again. Today, a-ha manager Harald Wiik tells VG that all the other dates planned for next year are also likely to be rescheduled.

“30-40 concerts were postponed to 2021. Unfortunately, I assume we’ll have to postpone everything once again, to 2022. It is unlikely that large concerts and festivals will be going ahead until the third or fourth quarter of 2021”, he says.

“I wish we could tour in 2021, but I don’t think that will be possible. In Norway alone there is estimated to be 1,3 million people in the risk group, who are the first who should be vaccinated. Even if most things goes according to plan, it’s hard to imagine a return to normality until late fall.”

VG asks Wiik if it will be at all possible to do a world tour on a similar large scale as was planned before the pandemic.

“I think it can be possible in 2022, but even that is uncertain. We’re planning to tour all over South America, plus the USA, which is facing big challenges, and there could also be new waves [of coronavirus] in Europe. We are, as everyone else, dependent on the situation to get under control, and we also have to do a specific risk assessment on behalf of our employees and not least our audiences”, Wiik says.

He also tells VG that the a-ha camp is currently working on both a feature film and a musical, in addition to the already finished documentary film. And a lot of new music is being written, although it remains to be seen how it will be used.

“a-ha can handle another tour postponement. But it hurts to see how our crew and backing musicians are struggling, who, in addition to our postponements, are also losing other tour opportunities.”