Revellers snake round clubs on first Friday night on the town since Freedom Day
It was a big night out.
Britons hit the dancefloors and enjoyed their first Friday night on the town in more than a year-and-a-half after Covid restrictions were lifted.
Huge queues were seen snaking around clubs and bars across England after Monday’s Freedom Day allowed them to reopen to the public without social distancing measures.
Many dusted off their fancy dress for the big night out and excitedly took selfies in the queues in anticipation for the memorable night ahead.
Having had their doors shut since March last year, clubs welcomed back revellers with a bang hiring fire breathers and stilt walkers for the occasion.
Hundreds were seen queuing up outside clubs like Astoria in Portsmouth from as early as 9pm to kick-off the weekend.
The club said it had been expecting around 2,000 attendees for their first major night back and every staff member had a Covid test beforehand.
Bosses at Astoria claimed they have received the most NHS app check ins in the country, excluding sport events and concerts.
Many clubs expected to make a welcomed big profit last night after selling out their events.
Nightclubs threw open their doors at the stroke of midnight on Monday with some revellers comparing the atmosphere to the buzz of New Year’s Eve.
It was a welcome return for the hard-hit nighttime and hospitality industries, who have been battered by 16 months of closures and social distancing limitations.
But the relief was quickly replaced by frustration when the Government announced plans to make Covid passports mandatory for clubs.
Boris Johnson announced earlier this week that from September, people will have to prove they are double-jabbed in order to be allowed entry to crowded indoor venues.
The move, aimed at boosting vaccine uptake among young people, has been slammed by Labour, industry leaders and even some Tory MPs.
Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, expressed his frustration at ‘another chaotic U-turn’ after Sajid Javid said the week before that certification would not be compulsory.
He said: ‘So, “freedom day” for night clubs lasted around 17 hours then…. What an absolute shambles.’
Mr Kill added: ‘80% of nightclubs have said they do not want to implement covid passports – worrying about difficulties with enforcing the system and a reduction in spontaneous consumers, as well as being put at a competitive disadvantage with pubs and bars that aren’t subject to the same restrictions and yet provide similar environments.’
The easing of rules means people don’t have to wear a face mask inside clubs and with table service being scrapped, people are free to head to the bar to get in as many rounds as they want.
But old clubbing frustrations were quick to return as some admitted they hadn’t missed long queues and sore feet.
Fundraiser Chloe Waite, 37, who was first in the queue at Egg in London, said the occasion was ‘something we’re going to remember for a long time’.
She said: ‘It’s going to be a special night. For me this is a New Year’s-type event and something we’re going to remember for a long, long time and we might not get the opportunity for a while.’
Dolores Frankenstein admitted it would be ‘a bit overwhelming to be around so many people again’.
She added that she was ‘open-minded’ but ‘a bit bored of queuing already’.
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