How The Rich Partied During Coronavirus Lockdown

This summer was one of sporting fixtures cancelled, concerts postponed and national borders closed, meaning little live entertainment for anyone. Except for those who could afford their own.

Over the past three to four months, the wealthy have spent millions building their own secret clubs and live music venues, and then flying in musicians and performers for their own version of live entertainment.

One Saudi Arabian flew out Afrojack, the DJ, to perform on his superyacht in Capri. It was after Ramadan, so the unnamed billionaire wanted to entertain his guests onboard, according to Emmanuel Akintunde whose GF Entertainment arranged the party.

“On the yacht is much more fun,” says Bjorn de Decker, who booked an opera singer to perform on his yacht for his wife’s birthday while cruising Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda. “Attending an opera now and just sitting there with a mask on? No thank you.”

De Decker has helped others bring musicians and pop-stars onto their superyachts this summer. Now people are preparing for winter in the Caribbean and are specking up their yachts in preparation: “They have a helipad that can convert into a nightclub with a state-of-the-art Bang & Olufsen sound system, with smoke machines and with DJ equipment. So that’s normal, that’s nothing special.”

Then there’s the artists: Alicia Keys can cost anywhere between $750,000 and $1 million; Drake could be treble that. And, if you don’t already have a yacht (plus helipad) for them to perform on, you can charter a substantial one from $300,000 to $400,000 a week.

But whats different about this season, says De Decker, is most people are chartering for longer. Three, even four weeks is now the norm, putting the bill for a private superyacht party at $2 million or more.

Its not all about the yachts, however. In Ibiza, Serena Cook, who founded concierge company Deliciously Sorted, has spent much of the summer fitting out private nightclubs in high-end villas.

With all the major clubs in Ibiza closed, people have refitted pool houses, out houses, and even dug out spaces under their tennis courts for their own private clubs, says Cook. “You cannot have music in the open air after midnight in any summer in Ibiza. So what people have done to combat that is they have built nightclubs or dancing areas inside their property.”

Again, expect a venue with state-of-the-art sound systems, full-blown dance floor and expensive decor. “They range from a capacity of 50 people to the biggest that I know is 300 people.

“Its going to be very boutique, unlike a club you’ll get in Ibiza. It might be the equivalent of something you might find in London or Paris for example,” says Cook.

Even those in lockdown far from the party islands of the Mediterranean are still finding ways to enjoy live entertainment.

Emmanuel Akintunde normally books A-List artists, DJs and access to invitation-only events for the very-wealthy. Now his company, GF Entertainment, runs “Tiny Desk Concerts” to bring these same performers to clients via online streaming.

“What some artists are doing now—people like Alicia Keys and Chris Martin—they’re performing from their location and then we would live stream it to the client’s estate or compound wherever they may be.

“In somewhere like Saudi Arabia a prince will have a live link into his compound. He will have a projector screen and have a personal performance with 10 or 12 of his friends,” says Akintunde.

A live-streamed performance can cost around half that of one “in the flesh” says Akintunde, and people love the personal touch. “So, for example, for that birthday party you can have someone like Alicia Keys say, ‘Happy birthday Sandra, I’m sure you’re having a great time, sorry I can’t be there with you.'”

These tiny desk concerts have gone down particularly well in the Middle East, where the craving to see well-known artists has rarely been stronger, says Akintunde, though, “they try not to let it go over 60 minutes otherwise people get distracted.”

How To Party Like A Rockstar During A Pandemic

Behind all this partying is a paranoia. The wealthy are not immune to Covid-19, as attendees of Porto Cervo’s Billionaire nightclub found out earlier this month.

But to be seen partying during a global pandemic can also backfire. David Solomon’s DJ-ing at a not-so-socially distance Hamptons party in July did not go down so well with employees nor authorities in New York. Andrew Cuomo, its governor, promised an inquiry into the concert for “egregious social distancing violations.”

Outbreaks and outbursts like these will keep the rich partying in the privacy of their yachts, pool houses and compounds for the foreseeable. For now, this is the new global party circuit of the super-rich.