When will nightclubs and music venues reopen in the UK?
THE UK’s live music and clubbing scene has been shuttered since March and summer festivals have almost all been cancelled due to coronavirus.
With pubs, restaurants and cinemas set to return from as early as July, here’s what we know so far about gigs and clubbing.
Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
When will nightclubs reopen?
The Government has given little specific detail, with no concrete dates for when music venues and clubs might be allowed to reopen.
It is highly unlikely that clubs will be reopening any time this summer due to the packed social spaces being a hotbed for coronavirus to infect thousands.
The UK’s May 11 three-step plan says that reopening venues whose “core purpose is social interaction (such as nightclubs)… may only be fully possible significantly later depending on the reduction in the numbers of infections.”
The government is cautious as there was a coronavirus spike in South Korea as soon as they reopened nightclubs in late April and had to shut them down again after only two weeks.
In Germany, where the virus is almost under control, the ban on nightclubs will last until July 31 at least, while gatherings of more than 5,000 people aren’t happening until October 24.
When will concerts be back on?
The UK’s three-step plan to reopen was published May 11 and while it indicates that pubs and restaurants may get the green light in July, it says that “some venues which are, by design, crowded and where it may prove difficult to enact distancing may still not be able to reopen safely at this point, or may be able to open safely in part”.
Concerts, particularly open-air ones, will therefore likely be the first to reopen as they are better ventilated and fields tend to have more space than clubs.
The Government plan says: “While reopening outdoor spaces and activities (subject to continued social distancing) comes earlier in the roadmap because the risk of transmission outdoors is significantly lower,”
MORE ON CORONAVIRUS
What social distancing measures will be in place?
The Government hasn’t said much about what social distancing measures will be in place for gigs and concerts, but the chances are that the bar will be socially distanced the same way it will be in pubs.
It is highly likely that there will be reduced capacities and space between attendees, such as spaced seating in venues like Wembley.
Capacity will likely be increased over time as the R value goes down in the local area, but that all depends on how things go.