#aaa passes

I remember Olivia had a VIP pass during LOT and that's why she was there in almost every show, and that pass had access to backstage, but I've read somewhere that she wasn't authorised to go backstage alone. She needed to go with a member of H's team.

Another thing I remember is that at the last show she was seen at, they took away her pass and moved her to a different section😂

Hiiiii sweetheart,

wait, they took her pass in the middle of the show? *wheezelaughs self into eternity* 🤣🤣🤣

...

...

Okay, I let that (beautiful) fact marinate in my noggin and from my personal and professional experience, I suspect that her getting that certain VIP pass might've been an accident right from the get go, meaning she might have received a pass at entry that she wasn't meant to get anymore, because perhaps the person who put her on the list selected the wrong pass to go with it out of habit ('cause she always used to get that one, you know?) or the person working the guest list perhaps misread the list (skipping a line in the rush happens very fast..) and someone noticed it later when they saw the pass she was wearing, so they corrected the mistake. And I want to make a point: often that mistake doesn't even get corrected if it's not severe (for instance, someone who was only meant to get a photo pass getting an AAA pass would be severe), because it can be a big negative hassle to do so. To bump a kind-of-celebrity-guest (who is also -to the public and most concert staff- "dating the main act of the show") down from their pass is kinda like telling a kind-of-celebrity they got upgraded to 1st class on a plane and then having to tip-toe up to them and telling them it was a mistake and they were actually only meant for Business Class... you can imagine the tantrum -- but in the case of that particular show, it must've been really important to Harry and his team that she immediately wouldn't get that access anymore 👀

Still, it's possible that she got her usual VIP+backstage escort pass and then something happened on the fly, for example something was published (I can't remember on the spot what it was - the "break-up" announcement aka. the official end of the stunt? if anyone knows, please feel free to put it in the comments 💕) in the middle of the show and H's team decided they wanted her gone from that section right away and revoked her current pass. And iirc, she apparently just got a different VIP pass instead, right? One without the backstage access, which in a stadium can mean she had to also switch audience sections.

Back to the general topic of backstage passes for real partners and stunts:

I'm not in a position to say what kind of passes older stunts or beards have gotten, I'm sorry. But as far as I remember they were never allowed to roam all backstage areas freely at all times. And for current and future stunts, I highly doubt this will change. The kind of pass that O had, VIP + backstage escort, is what sounds the most plausible to me for both parties to still get their acting job done and then see ya 👋🏼

After what I read up on in Gina's @twopoppies' Holivia tag about Olivia's several boundary-crossing behaviours, I'm not surprised in the slightest if she was never allowed backstage unsupervised.

Having a VIP pass + backstage escort (so the pass Olivia apparently had) means that not the guest is the one to decide when to go where, but the person from H's team has sole say in that and will have instructions from H or his (tour) management on where to let people go and which areas are not to be accessed. For example, during the Holivia stunt, if H theoretically would have had wanted the last 2 hours pre-show and the 1st hour post-show to himself and his personal guests (with AAA passes), then the member of H's team would not let Olivia enter H's dressing room and possibly adjacent areas during that designated time. (each artist has their individual requirements for pre- and post-show backstage/dressing room population)

I talked about AAA passes in my comment to a question Daisie @daisiesonafield-blog had to this post and I'll quote my comment here and pad it with a bit more info:

AAA (Access All Areas) passes are usually the most limited and are usually given to family, partners/spouses, and close friends, but in theory they can be given to anyone the artist/agency chooses. Guests with an AAA pass are usually the only ones who are allowed to enter (all) backstage areas unsupervised.

[There’s also artist passes, tour crew passes, local working crew passes, press passes, photo passes, etc. — all have specific perks and rules. Most passes will be tied to guestlist spots, except local working crew passes, because those people obviously arrive at the venue MUCH much earlier for load-in (loading all backline into the venue). Press passes are sometimes also given out earlier than doors (entry for general public), when radio/print/screen interviews with the artist happen inside of the venue and take place long before stage time (show time). In some cases, i.e. huge stadiums, there can be different levels of access within the backstage areas and VIP areas and there’s different passes for all of those. For example a pass for someone who's not allowed into the artist dressing rooms, but allowed into the catering and rec areas. Usually those passes are wristbands or laminates with different colours, which the security personnel then has to pay attention to. With big shows (artist-wise), local working crew are generally not allowed into artist dressing rooms, only in case of emergency or with explicit permission.]

How do guests receive their passes? On the guestlist itself there will be an “AAA” marked in a column next to the names, so they get handed over those passes right away. Sometimes, when guests enter through the back entry / underground entry because they do not want to or can’t be seen entering, then they will be handed those passes (usually as a big stickie pass, a wristband, or a laminate) directly from the band manager or tour manager or someone from the show production team.

In the case of H&L, when hypothetically only Louis publicly attends a show and H can’t be seen, they can be given AAA passes so one or both of them can stay in the dressing or rec rooms or move around backstage during the show. Still, in this case, there's usually also an additional escort from their own team or the show's artist's team, especially if he/they doesn't/don't know the layout of the venue well, so he's/they're not getting lost or accidentally walking into a public hallway. In many venues you can kind of still see the part of the show from backstage areas/tunnels/on-stage sidestage, too - or hear it, at least. It always depends on the specific layout of each venue from where someone could watch the show without being spotted by the general audience.

I hope this answered your questions, sweetpea!!