Culture Secretary expresses hope for full theatre reopening on 21 June

Photo credit: Chris McAndrew

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said that he is now “very hopeful” that our theatres will be able to reopen fully on 21 June. This comes after a series of large-scale test events resulted in only 15 Covid-19 cases.

The government’s Events Research Programme saw more than 58,00 people attend various large-scale indoor events without social distancing across April and May. The Programme’s results will impact the decisions made about the proposed relaxation of the rules and social distancing set to take place on 21 June. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce whether Stage 4 can go ahead as planned on 14 June.

The outdoor events, such as the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium and music festival in Liverpool, identified just two cases of Covid, indicating that open air events were relatively safe.

From the 4,000 people who attended the BRIT Awards at London’s O2 with no masks or social distancing, there were no cases detected. And just four cases were found at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre after 17days of the World Snooker Championships.

The highest number of cases were found at a Liverpool nightclub, with 9 cases among the 6,000 attendees. It is agreed that clubbing will be the hardest part of the entertainment industry to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Talking to the Evening Standard, Dowden described the programme as a “real success”.

The industry has warned against any further delay to the removal of social distancing, claiming it could be damaging to the recovery of the sector. Some theatres are still unable to viably operate due to the 50% capacity rules currently in place, and many others have preparations well underway for larger productions planning to open after the lifting of social distancing in June.

A further round of pilot events is set to take place, exploring what measures could be put in place, such as testing, ventilation, and trialling the possibility of Covid-19 certification. This concept has been welcomed by the industry as a way to help venues return to normal. It would require patrons to show either a negative PCR test taken within a set period before the event, proof of vaccination, or proof they have Covid-19 antibodies.

Let’s keep everything crossed, Besties!