What does the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions mean for concert halls and music venues?
The UK Prime Minster Boris Johnson has announced that he is confident that the majority of the COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted from 19 July in England. This means that audiences will be invited back to concert halls, opera houses and music festivals without any social distancing restrictions or the requirement to wear a mask. Audience members will no longer be required to sign in using a QR code when they enter a music venue. Advertisement  The leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have not yet announced whether they will follow the Prime Ministers lead on this, and may choose to continue the restrictions in their countries. Final confirmation on whether the lifting of restrictions is able to continue will be announced on 12 July, following a review of the latest data. Following the announcement of the lifting of lockdown, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra called on the government for clear guidance on concert hall safety. There is an important task to be done rebuilding public confidence and providing the necessary reassurance that returning to the concert hall and the enjoyment of live performances can be done safely, says James Williams, managing director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This requires from government a robust roadmap that sets out a transition from socially distanced concerts to full-capacity events based on clear criteria, risk management protocols and meaningful, shared data from the Events Research Programme.  The Grange Festival was one of the music organisations selected to take part in the UK governments Events Research Programme pilot scheme this month, with audiences returning at full capacity. The programme involves all audience members showing proof of a double vaccination, a negative lateral flow test or proof of antibodies and natural immunity. There was some criticism of the governments pilot scheme from the musical community, with the Royal Albert Halls chief executive Craig Hassall commenting that the government was prioritising popular events such as sporting competitions over concert halls. There has also been frustrations from choirs, many of whom have not yet been able to rehearse because of COVID- restrictions. BBC Music Magazines columnist Richard Morrison recently pleaded for the return of both amateur and professional choirs. Most of the British population has been jabbed and we still face government disapproval for holding a choir practice or organising a brass band contest. The plain fact is that, without a properly flourishing amateur scene, Britains musical life is a shadow of what it was.  Oliver Dowden, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, confirmed the release of restrictions on amateur and professional choirs in a video posted to Twitter today. Advertisement  English choral music is one of our great contributions to global culture, so Ive been desperate to get choirs back again without restrictions, he says. Im happy to say that now, thanks to the huge work weve done with the COVID vaccine rollout and everyones contribution to that, at stage four of the road map we will remove all remaining restrictions on choirs. That will enable once again up to 70,000 amateur choirs up and down the country and many more organisations to share the joy of choral music again.