Spectators attended a series of scientific pilot events as part of the government’s plan to safely get big crowds back this summer. Working closely with local authorities and organisers, the science-led Events Research Programme (ERP) was run across a range of settings, venues, and activities. The programme’s findings will support the full reopening of similar settings across the events sector in the summer.
All pilots were designed in a scientifically controlled way, with special consideration to reduce risk of transmission. The events were exempt from the wider coronavirus regulations, including the rule of six. The programme was overseen by an industry-led steering group working closely with national and local public health authorities.
At the time of writing, the board is currently considering the results and is set to make recommendations to the Prime Minister and the Secretaries of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on how policy can work to bring about the phased return of larger audiences to venues and events up and down the UK.
The pilot event at the Celtic Manor Resort was one of nine indoor and outdoor events throughout South Wales. However, the event exposed the unviability of present restrictions, leading events industry professionals to call for a roadmap towards the safe return of the business events sector in Wales. Under the guidance of the Welsh government, the event tested the risk mitigation measures proposed for the industry with a range of stringent health and safety measures in place. Attendees were asked to carry out a lateral flow test on arrival, having already secured a negative PCR test in the days prior, three separate colour groups were assigned to manage delegate flow, and mask wearing was required when not seated for sessions. Attendees enjoyed a full programme of activity throughout the day, including a keynote presentation from Olympic diving medallist, Leon Taylor, break-out sessions focussed on the safe return of business events, and a catered lunch trialling three different options typical to the sector.
Delegates were happy to comply with all protocols but the additional requirement to observe 2m physical distancing throughout the event demonstrated, most clearly, that meaningful business events would be impossible to sustain with these constraints. Celtic Manor’s Caernarfon Suite can normally hold more than 1,000 people theatre-style in the two-thirds division of the room being utilised for the trial event. The 2m distancing configuration meant it was more or less full with the capped audience of 100 people.
While the roadmap set out by the government for England already allows for events up to 1,000 people indoors, the reopening of the events sector in Wales has been much more cautious with reluctance to outline any schedule undermining client confidence and preventing advance bookings. Both Celtic Manor Resort and ICC Wales have seen prestigious meetings scheduled for later in the year cancel in recent weeks and switch to venues elsewhere in the UK where confidence in reopening is much greater.
Ian Edwards, Chief Executive, Celtic Manor and ICC Wales said: “It’s fantastic to be back in a meeting room after more than a year, but just looking out over this eerie room, it’s clear we have a long way to go. We are lucky we have a room this size which means we can host this event, most venues will struggle to hold 50 people with 2m distancing in place. More than 70 staff are working on this event to look after only 100 delegates – numbers like that just do not stack up.
“These restrictions and the fact we still do not have a roadmap or a schedule for the fuller reopening of the events sector, place us at a catastrophic disadvantage to competitors in other parts of the UK. It is vital that there is a four-nation approach to any regulations, to provide organisers with complete consistency across all of the UK and ensure Wales is not left behind.
“The great thing about business events is they are meticulously organised, with pre-arrival registration and information, controlled numbers and compliant delegates, which I think we’ve shown with our pilot event. We would like to thank everyone for their support because it shows just how determined everyone is to get us back up and running for real. We cannot wait to welcome everyone back, but it has to be in a feasible and viable manner.”
While in Liverpool, Public Health officials and scientists have found its city’s pilot events did not cause any detectable spread of COVID-19 across the region. The city hosted four hugely successful events, with a total of 13,258 people attending The Good Business Festival, two nightclub events hosted by Circus and the Sefton Park pilot music festival. Wearing face coverings or maintaining social distancing were not required at any of Liverpool’s pilot events.
All attendees were required to take a lateral flow test ahead of the event – a negative test allowing them access. Five people with the virus were identified through this process and were not allowed to attend. Ticketholders were encouraged to take a PCR test on the day of the event, and a second one five days later. This process identified four people as possibly having the virus at an event; and a further seven people were identified with the virus four to seven days after they attended. Of those who tested positive – two attended the music festival, nine attended the nightclub and none attended the business festival. Many of the cases were friends who meet outside of events and may not have been infected at an event itself.
Everyone who tested positive was successfully followed up by the contact tracing team. Scientists found the testing, data and contact tracing systems worked well, with key information being available to public health teams before the events which allowed contacts of potential cases to be traced quickly. The research team also found that between 25% and 43% of people returned a PCR test after the event, with the Sefton Park pilot festival seeing three times the number of the other Liverpool pilots due to the incentive of winning tickets to future gigs.
Every test result for the 2.6m population of Cheshire and Merseyside was examined before and after the events, with 96% of tickets linked to test results. The results showed there was no evidence of any substantial spread of the virus around the pilot events. COVID-19 infections remain low in Liverpool and the pattern of variants is being watched carefully.
The public health and science teams are cautiously optimistic that events can reopen reasonably safely with effective testing in place, with Professor Iain Buchan, Dean of the Institute of Population Health at the University of Liverpool, commenting: “The Events Research Programme in Liverpool demonstrated the importance of close working between events organisers, local public health teams and eventgoers in delivering the COVID safety net needed to make events as safe as possible over the coming months. Timely data and quick action to trace and test contacts of people testing positive, both before and after events, was key to containing potential outbreaks.
“We identified room for improvements such as ensuring people do not attend if they feel even slightly unwell – not just those with classic COVID symptoms; maximising ventilation even in large indoor spaces; incentives to return PCR tests for research purposes; and automating the issue of tickets only after an assured negative test in the day running up to the event. There is more to learn from improved COVID-safety measures as we welcome events back, and Liverpool will keep producing the evidence needed to secure enjoyment of events for us all.”
Director of Culture Liverpool, Claire McColgan, said: “The pandemic has been devastating for the events sector, so we’re delighted we have shown that with certain measures in place, people can dance, sing, hug and laugh together, in a crowd, safely.
“Public Health Liverpool, the University of Liverpool, our events team, the brilliant promoters and the people of this city have embraced this programme, worked tirelessly together and, as a result, made a real difference to those whose lives are sustained by the industry, and those whose lives are enriched by it. I want to say thank you to everyone involved. Your hard work paid off and you have given hope to this sector which will reap the benefits of our experience.
