NI venues at breaking point call on the Executive for full re-opening date
A collection of music, conference and theatrical venues, along with their staff, performers & supply chain, are calling for a removal of the 1m social distance requirement in Northern Ireland at the scheduled 23rd Sept meeting of the NI Executive.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK & Ireland in which indoor venues are not currently open without capacity reductions, or have a full re-opening date scheduled.
Current requirements stipulate a 1m distance rule, which means that the majority of venues across Northern Ireland have been unable to reopen.
Those that have opened are operating on the basis of a dramatically reduced all-seated capacity which is not financially viable.
Events are being cancelled on a daily basis as uncertainty continues. Top international acts such as Genesis, Van Morrison, Laura Marling, JC Stewart and many others have either cancelled or rescheduled indoor performances in Belfast this month alone due to social distancing requirements, at a host of hundreds of thousands of pounds to the local economy.
Customers in their thousands from Northern Ireland are rushing to purchase tickets for scheduled indoor events in Republic of Ireland from October 22nd, on account of the certainty the government reopening announcement has provided. Many others are travelling to England & Scotland to attend indoor events there.
Venues such as The 02 Arena, Royal Albert Hall, The Palladium and the West End have reopened to full capacities safely.
The NI venue sector is committed to employing bespoke mitigations and safety procedures to ensure audience safety at all times. With the furlough scheme ending in late September, a multitude of businesses are under threat, with staff members at imminent risk of unemployment as winter approaches.
Incentive schemes have been developed to improve town & city business, such as Eat Out To Help Out and the High Street Voucher Scheme. The music, conference & theatre venue sector has availed of no such incentive scheme, and indeed remains effectively closed since March of 2020.
Joe Dougan of The Limelight in Belfast commented: “The last 18 months has been incredibly difficult for this industry. We urgently need our Executive to provide a full reopening date, remove social distancing requirements, and allow us to plan for the coming months. We are confident this can be done safely.”
This sector urgently requires a full re-opening date, and a removal of social distancing requirements in these venue spaces.
The Northern Ireland Executive are scheduled to meet on Thursday (23rd September) to discuss this matter.
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