Relive your UCLA glory days for free with the first virtual Spring Sing concert
Each year, thousands of students pile into UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion to watch their classmates perform at the Spring Sing talent show — a treasured university tradition that posed an unprecedented health threat this season amid the coronavirus crisis.
Because of the pandemic, all large gatherings originally set to be held at Pauley, such as UCLA basketball games and gymnastics meets, have been called off. So instead, Spring Sing is going virtual for the first time on Friday at 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
“Moving what typically is an 8,000-person event in Pauley Pavilion to an online platform took a village, but thanks to the resilience of the Bruin community and the support of our peers, we are excited to share a night of laughter and joy with you all, online,” the UCLA Alumni Association said in a statement.
The event, which will feature prerecorded performances filmed at students’ homes, premieres tonight on the Spring Sing website. Unlike previous Spring Sing concerts held on campus, which require a purchased ticket to attend, anyone can access Friday’s livestream for free.
Dating back 75 years, Spring Sing is a musical extravaganza featuring a mix of student bands, a cappella groups, dance companies, comedians, duet and solo acts. In the past, the talent competition has helped launch the careers of artists such as Sara Bareilles and Maroon 5, who were once UCLA students.
“We’ve encountered more limitations than we could have ever anticipated, and it wasn’t always easy to see how (or if) things would work out, but these obstacles created opportunities for the committee, cast and crew to innovate, invent and get inspired,” said the Spring Sing committee in a statement.
“The journey was challenging and exciting, terrifying and invigorating, but at the end of it all Spring Sing 2020 is a celebration of possibility, a toast to creativity and, most of all, a display of the extraordinary talent of our Bruin community,” the statement added.
While the student-organized, two-hour show is free to watch this year, viewers can donate to the
UCLA Alumni Association Support Fund here.
International student-athletes at UCLA and USC have found that a global pandemic can bring about long waits to get home and days spent in isolation.
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