Zero cases of COVID were diagnosed among
BRIT Awards attendees, giving the U.K. government hope it can stick to its plan to reopen on 6/21. Included in the next phase of testing is a modified
Download festival.
The BRITS award ceremony was the first major indoor event with an audience, in this case 4,000 frontline workers who were allowed to forego social distancing and face coverings.
Culture Secretary
Oliver Dowden told the
Evening Standard the event was “a real success” and that he was “very hopeful” that venues and theaters would be able to reopen at full capacity on 6/21.
The BRITs were part of the Events Research Programme that came up with just 15 cases of COVID-19 among the 58k people who attended events such as the
FA Cup final and a
Blossoms concert in Liverpool.
The government is in the process of commissioning a second round of trials involving larger crowds at major venues including a 10k-capacity edition of the Download festival 6/18-21 in Derby. Attendees will need to prove they have tested negative in the days before the show. Organizers will announce the lineup on Friday.
Professional musicians, though, are far better off than amateurs: Amateur choirs in England have been restricted to gatherings of six people indoors and 30 outdoors.
BRITS PASS COVID TEST; DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL IS NEXT
