My not-so-easy life: What it’s like to cover celebrities in The Town’s VIP box

“How incredible!”, “How chic!” or “what a fun job!” is what you hear most when you say that you are going to cover the VIP area of ​​an event like The Town, a music festival that ends this Sunday (10) in São Paulo.

It may seem like a dream job, but it’s far from the glamor most people imagine. First of all, you are not invited. It’s not VIP. There’s nothing “important person” about it, and it’s there to make the wheels turn, showing the famous people who were in the event’s largest commercial space. See the shows? Enjoy? Forget it —even if your favorite artist is on stage.

The objective is to record who was there, who caught the attention, who had something interesting to say (few, most of the time). A cell phone with a battery in the stem and another power bank are essential to give that Google of humility when someone appears who you are not sure who they are, research minimally relevant topics to discuss with people.

For those who —like us— were not invited, there are two chances to enter the box: one from 7pm to 8:30pm and another from 9pm to 10:30pm, the latter being exclusive to vehicles that have a media partnership with the event (the Sheet he has). First, you must sign up for a list in the press room, starting at 5pm. You have to arrive early and put the cute little name there.

And what happens from 5pm to 7pm? You expect. And try to get a little ahead of the work, monitoring whether there are any famous people making a (paid) presence at the stands spread across the festival. They pose next to company logos, generally say very annoying things, and don’t hide the fact that they are there to exchange favors, desperate to get rid of the journalists, those bad guys.

Minutes before entering the VIP area, the advisor goes to the press room door and calls out the names on the list, as if it were a class roll call. Those who pass the first cut (there are more interested parties than availability of vacancies) are taken to the service entrance.

Before entering, you must exchange your credential for a vest, a type of abadá that must be worn over your clothes and that “gives you away” immediately. And so any spontaneity on the part of celebrities goes away, they immediately realize that there is a journalist (this inconvenience) right next to them. Another unintended result of the vest is making half the party believe that you work there and ask you for information. Former BBB Tina Calamba asked me if I knew where to charge my cell phone. So it is.

Being inside also doesn’t mean you’ll bump into famous people. Those who want to appear even walk around, it’s cool, but most prefer to stay in the “Vipão”, a box inside the box, where you can only enter with a different bracelet and the approval of promoter Carol Sampaio. It’s all very well thought out.

Ah, but is it at least possible to eat well and have a drink after the mission is accomplished? What nothing. In the contract that the press has to sign when requesting credentials, the event’s advisor sends a very direct hint: “It is important to remember that the catering available to the press is located in the press room”. For those who understand…

At Rock in Rio, The Town’s more famous Rio sister, there was a reporter who dared to take a coxinha from the buffet. A chicken drumstick. He was poked in the shoulder by a security guard who told him to return it to the tray.