Now that we’re post-Memorial Day, it’s officially the unofficial start of summer, which means a whole lotta sports and a whole lotta music are headed our way. Since we pretty much had to give the summer of 2020 a swing and a miss, we’re thrilled to see that this summer season is serving up a supersized helping of XP of both the athletic and melodic variety (or so it seems to our activity-starved selves, anyway).
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On the sporty side, things are teeing off at Torrey Pines with golf’s US Open starting June 17. Organizers opted to keep the number of fans limited and either proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test will be required, in addition to following social distancing and masking protocols.
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Over in Europe, the Euro Championship, pretty much the biggest soccer tournament aside from the World Cup, is kicking off this month following a year’s delay owing to the pandemic. The extravaganza will last a month and span about a dozen European cities, which honestly sounds like a logistics nightmare right now. Quelle horreur — we look forward to attending from le couch.
In case you haven’t heard (in which case we want to meet you, because wow, we’re either v. impressed or v. disturbed), the Tokyo Olympics are still scheduled to begin July 23. Yes, we’re still saying “still” because there continues to be major pressure to cancel the Games. The organizers are still pressing forward; however, whether local spectators will be allowed remains an open question. Regardless of the outcome at this point, Japan is set to sustain major economic losses, serving as a stark reminder of the risks of all kinds still at play as we all forge ahead — as we must, within reason — with XP plans for the rest of the year.
Over on the tennis courts, the sport is grappling with follow-out from star Naomi Osaka’s exit from the French Open as it preps for Wimbledon at the end of June (planning for 25 percent capacity, though there’s talk of increasing ticket capacity) and the US Open beginning Aug. 30. No spectators were permitted at Arthur Ashe and the other venues last year, but fans will be permitted to fill the stands this summer.
Meanwhile, music is getting back into the swing of things with Lollapalooza on in Chicago from July 29 to Aug. 1, Lady Gaga’s “Chromatica Ball” tour kicking off Aug. 7 and Harry Styles’ “Love On Tour” storming stages Aug.14. Billie Ellish, Post Malone and DaBaby will be at Governors Ball in September, which, as we previously reported, will take place at Citi Field. And, while Coachella took two years off to Netflix and chill (j/k, we know it was a pandemic pause), the famed fest will return in April of 2022 — tickets are on sale today!
Also, remember all the times you’ve been super grateful to the workers from Rent a Throne and Callahead and Imperial Restrooms and the like? Good news: The porta potty industry is ca$hing in on the IRL comeback. We’re glad somebody’s winning!
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