Into the great wide open

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Yesterday afternoon, the events world saw a light at the end of the tunnel with the government announcement that outdoor events could be restarted from Monday 13th July.

While the festival season may not be saved for this year, it does give the opportunity for some open-air events to occur as long as guidelines are followed.

It doesn’t mean that the floodgates for outdoor events have been opened wide, risks are still being assessed for both performers and public, but clarification should be forthcoming over the following weeks.

There’s a lot to process but here are some takeaways:

Managing audiences

  • Maintain social distancing wherever possible

  • Consider lowering capacities

  • Stagger entry times and create one-way routes

Staging and capacity

  • Reduce site, premises or venue capacity and limit ticket sales to a volume which ensures social distancing can be maintained.

  • Risk assessments need to consider worker safety, especially of those working closely with a large number of members of the public or audience

  • Consider staggering performances times

Ticketing and payments

  • Encourage pre-booked tickets

  • Allow for contactless payment onsite

Cloakroom

  • Consider using no contact options such as lockers

  • Frequent cleaning

  • Limit items carried to the site, premises or venue

Managing food, drink and retail purchases, and food and drink consumption

  • Remove self-serve options

  • Introduce pre-order and collect or table service to avoid pinch points

Entrances, exits and managing people flow

  • Reduce instances where people might be required to queue

  • Use queue management and mark out one-way flow systems throughout

  • Manage crowd density points

Seating arrangements and use of common areas

  • Provide seating in a way which ensures social distancing between individuals or groups

  • Consider the needs of disabled audience members

  • Frequent cleaning

Toilets

  • Keep facilities well ventilated

  • Use signage to encourage good hygiene

  • Frequent cleaning schedule

  • Avoid bottlenecks at entrances and exits

Providing and explaining available guidance

  • Give clear guidance on social distancing and hygiene to visitors before arrival and during their time on site

  • Consider the equality impact of the changes made and what advice or guidance you will need to provide for users who might be adversely impacted

You can read the full government guidelines here.

While it may seem that life is starting to move forward, there’s still a lot of work to do to ensure safe environments for all guests and visitors. If you have an idea for an event but need the knowledge and expertise to put your mind at ease, we’re here to help you every step of the way.