It’s been a long time coming, but the Great British Summer of sport, performance and music is now in sight. Tomorrow, the Prime Minister will unveil a list of pilot spectator events for the coming weeks, from a comedy night for 300 in Liverpool to a 21,000-strong crowd at the FA Cup Final.
Not the socially-distanced kind of event with no atmosphere, but real occasions with large audiences in theatres, stadiums and at gigs packed with cheering fans.
It will be the first time in more than a year that sports stars and performers will be back in front of sizeable crowds.
The Culture Secretary said an independently chaired Science Board of Chief Scientific Advisers – made up of independent scientists and public health experts – will help understand how potential transmission of the virus might take place at sports and arts venues
Tomorrow, the Prime Minister will unveil a list of pilot spectator events for the coming weeks, from a comedy night for 300 in Liverpool to a 21,000-strong crowd at the FA Cup Final
These pilots are not just stand-alone events. They are led by science and designed to pave the way for the return of life as we previously knew.
Part of our Events Research Programme, these trials will cover the gamut of live entertainment so that we can get sports and the arts – both hit hard by the pandemic – back to full strength.
The programme will test various settings and the conclusions will be shared across the full range of events that depend on bringing people together.
For example, the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield is hosting the World Snooker Championship and, in doing so, will act as a live test for theatres up and down the country.
Each pilot event is a model for a much bigger reopening in the future, particularly from June 21. And the programme is a key part in helping us lift all the social-distancing restrictions this summer, if we can do so safely.
An independently chaired Science Board of Chief Scientific Advisers – made up of independent scientists and public health experts – will help us to understand how potential transmission of the virus might take place at sports and arts venues, and will gather evidence on how they can open up without social distancing in the future.
Aside from the need to get some joy back into our lives, I know that it’s vital we take this step to save sport and the arts.
We have pumped a huge amount of support into the theatres, galleries, festivals and orchestras. The only way to secure their future properly is to get the seats filled once again.
Our unprecedented £2 billion package for the arts is helping venues and event organisers across the country – from theatres to cinemas, music halls to festivals – survive and plan for a brighter future in which they can thrive once more.
Last week, I saw the reopening plans for one of our great theatres, the Wolverhampton Grand. We have given them £1.5 million from the Culture Recovery Fund and the staff there can now see light at the end of the tunnel with a new production in development. The likes of Charlie Chaplin and Marlene Dietrich have trodden the boards at the Wolverhampton Grand and, through our funding, we are ensuring that stars of the future can follow in their footsteps.
Sport has also received £1.5 billion of business support, including a £600 million survival package to ensure that those who have been unable to admit spectators in the last few months have had the financial assistance they need to keep going.
Our support means that no fan has the heartbreak of losing a club to Covid.
We will continue to help these precious institutions as they recover, but we need to allow them to start making money themselves soon. The events pilot programme is, therefore, a timely step and a vital one.
Those attending the pilot events might well find the experience a little different from their usual trip to a match or the theatre. There will be Covid tests. Researchers and scientists will be present.
If you get a seat at one of these events, you will see us trying out different ways to stop the virus spreading. You will be tested before and after the event to help us make them as safe as possible.
You might be asked to arrive earlier than normal as we manage the flow of people, or to arrive by foot, cycle or car to minimise clustering on public transport.
These steps are important to help us build the case for the safe return of even more fans from June 21.
And we can be confident that a lot of people will want to be a part of this, and be among the very first to experience the thrill of a live performance or a match for the first time in more than a year.
Pioneering fans will be eager to play their part, just as others have put up their hands to help in the course of the pandemic.
As the Prime Minister has said, we will continue to move along the roadmap with caution, led at all times by the data. This programme is a vital part of that progress.
We will examine the risks closely, plan to keep people safe, mitigate the dangers and, in doing, so we will be able to have spectators returning in full to events once more.
Each successful pilot is a huge step forward towards the life we all miss sorely, every day.
We have the venues. We have the stars waiting in the wings to delight a real crowd. Now all we need is the spectators.
