Nightclubs and music venues welcome relaxation of restrictions
Nightclubs and music venues have welcomed the Government's move to lift Covid restrictions later this month – with one venue planning a midnight celebration.
The Prime Minister's announcement that the remaining Covid rules would be lifted on July 19 means venues like nightclubs can finally look to re-open in something approaching a 'normal' fashion.
Martin Monahan, the owner of Shrewsbury's Buttermarket, said they were thrilled at the prospect of being able to return to some kind of normality, and have a special event planned for the evening of July 18, going into July 19.
He said: "Obviously we are delighted that nightclubs after so many months can actually finally re-open and we are wasting no time. Literally at midnight on July 19 we will be starting.
"We will have bubbles of six before midnight then at midnight everyone can descend onto the dance floor so it will be very much like a New Year's Eve party with confetti and CO2 cannons. It will be quite spectacular.
"We will be calling it 'Freedom at Midnight – Unlock the Dancefloor'."
Looking to the future Mr Monahan said the venue would consider carrying on with its 'Super Pub in the Club' nights, where the club has been run as a normal pub style venue, as well as continuing hosting other activities like the popular Bongos's Bingo nights, and more live music.
He said: "There will be a huge appetite for people to go out and get back into enjoying events so we have got a lot lined up."
David Gregg, managing director of Telford and Shrewsbury live music venue, Albert's Shed, said they were looking forward to hosting live music again on July 23 and 24.
The venue had stopped hosting live performances after the government postponed the lifting of the remaining Covid regulations last month, because of concerns about the financial impact of socially distanced shows.
Mr Gregg said they would also be taking advice from the Music Venue Trust before deciding on which restrictions they might retain.
He said: "We are generally pleased but I am still a little bit cautious as well, I think the biggest fear for us is they have not ruled out a winter lockdown and that would be a disaster – in some ways it is easier to stay closed than to re-open again.
"The re-opening will be hailed as a free-for-all but it is important we make the distinction that it is on us to take the precautions we think our customers will want.
"We have a Zoom meeting with the Music Venue Trust where they will outline how to re-open venues safely.
"We still have a responsibility for the health and safety of our customers and don't want to be seen as reckless – I don't think it will be the same as it was two years ago."
He added: "Consumer confidence is key to what we are looking to build. Just because people can do something it does not mean they want to do it, if that makes sense. We cater for quite a wide age group and a lot of backgrounds. We are not a nightclub full of 18- to 25-year-olds, who you would guess are a lot less concerned than our typical age range from 25 to 55."
