Thousands danced without face coverings at a music festival in northern England as the UK government permitted the country’s first post-lockdown gig.
A crowd of 5,000 people cheered, danced and sang along to performances from bands including English indie pop act Blossoms at the sold-out event on Sunday at Liverpool’s Sefton Park.
The festival was part of a pilot project by the UK government called the Events Research Programme (ERP) to test crowd safety at live events ahead of planned lifting of restrictions on 21 June.
Hugging a group of friends outside the concert tent, Matt Berry said they were “getting back to doing normal things that normal people do… finally”
FATBOY Slim says he got goosebumps while DJing for 3,000 people at a Covid-safe pilot event. The Hove DJ performed at The First Dance event in Liverpool where revellers, who all had to produce negative coronavirus tests, did not have to wear face coverings or social distance for the first time since before lockdown began. It is hoped the event, which took place over the bank holiday weekend, will pave the way for clubs across the country to reopen their doors. Still getting goosebumps.. much praise to all behind the scenes, especially @yousefcircus & @richchibuku If you were there, don t forget to get your test this week
Indoor events can open for up to 1,000 people or 50pc capacity, again whichever is lower.
For film fans, Orion Cinema in Dereham has confirmed that they will open on May 17 after undergoing some major changes.
The cinema now boasts an online booking system that automatically socially distances guests once they book and a new Dolby 7.1 sound system
Lee Allwood, director of Orion Cinemas since 2019 when they took over Hollywood Cinemas, said: We re looking forward to inviting film fans back to the cinema on May 17 after being closed since December. We have lots of new films including Peter Rabbit 2 and Nomadland.
DJ Mag goes behind the scenes at the UK Government s first COVID trial club event at Bramley-Moore Dock in Liverpool.
In April, it was announced that two events would take place as part of the UK Government s Events Research Programme (ERP), a series of pilots across a variety of Night Time Economy business settings, with the aim of assessing the safety of large scale events in terms of coronavirus transmission.
Attendees were required to live within a Liverpool City Region postcode to be able to get a ticket, and were also required to have a negative coronavirus lateral flow test 24 hours prior to the event. Face coverings and social distancing were not required at the venue, with attendees urged to take a PCR test five days after the event to ensure any transmission from the event can be monitored properly.
AIF has issued a red alert following fears over this summer s calendar.
Music fans had hoped for something approaching normality in 2021, with a number of high profile events attempting to stage summer shows.
However the issue of insurance remains - and many fear UK government advisors are simply not doing enough to help organisations on the ground.
With talks hitting a brick wall the AIF - Association Of Independent Festivals - has issued a red alert believing that up to 75% of events in July and August could cancel.
In recent weeks, the likes of Boomtown Fair and Deer Shed have been forced to pull the plug on their 2021 events, after months of work.