Nightclubs are not coming back to Irish society this year, according to Irish government’s Living With COVID-19 plan
Look, it won’t be a surprise to anyone following the guidelines around events at the moment but in case you are the optimistic kind let me burst your bubble.
Today’s new Living With COVID-19 plan from the Irish government for the next six months contains a few things relevant to the live music and entertainment industry and none of it, as expected is good news.
The entire country is on Level 2 of the plan with the exception of Dublin, which is somewhere in between. No regular pubs will re-open on September 21st in Dublin county, where they will re-open elsewhere.
Of relevance to club culture, is a line in there that stings. Clubs were always due to be the last thing to come back as it requires standing up, freedom of movement and relative close proximity but it still hurts to see the following printed in the plan today.
Nightclubs, discos and casinos
Nightclubs, discos and casinos will remain closed.
That text doesn’t change for Level 1 which is supposed to be an improvement, so I guess there won’t be any dancing any time in 2020, unless there’s a major change in the plans by the government.
As for indoor and outdoor, while Dublin restrictions remain as is for now, there are some emerging clarity on numbers that are starting to reflect the idea that not all venues and spaces are the same. This is Level 2 guidelines:
Organised indoor gatherings
These are controlled environments with a named event organiser, owner or manager.
For example: business, training events, conferences, events in theatres and cinemas or other arts events (excluding sport).
Up to 50 patrons are permitted and in pods or groups of up to 6 if appropriate, with arrangements to ensure no intermingling of groups.
Up to 100 patrons are permitted for larger venues where strict 2 metre seated social distancing and one-way controls for entry and exit can be implemented.
For very large purpose built event facilities (for example: stadia, auditoriums, conference or event centres) specific guidance will be developed with the relevant sectors to take account of size and different conditions for larger events.
Organised outdoor gatherings
These are controlled environments with a named event organiser, owner or manager. For example: outdoor Arts events, training events.
Up to 100 patrons are permitted for the majority of venues.
Up to 200 patrons for outdoor stadia or other fixed outdoor venues with a minimum accredited capacity of 5,000 (with robust protective measures as per sectoral guidance).
For very large purpose built event facilities (for example: stadia, auditoriums, conference or event centres) specific guidance will be developed with the relevant sectors to take account of size and different conditions for larger events.
Level 1 changes this so that outdoor can allow for up to 500 people not 200 if capacity of place is 5,000. Indoor events move to 100 for smaller and 200 for larger venues.
However, it seems there is more clarification coming for the arts and arts workers as per a tweet from National Campaign For The Arts today, as we’re still going to need a lot more help than last week’s announcement.
Attending @DeptAHG briefing on new National Plan for artists, arts workers & arts organisations. Will report back ASAP. Extremely heartened that Arts featured strongly in @MichealMartinTD speech & thank @cathmartingreen for ensuring arts sector noted, as promised. #SAVETHEARTS
— National Campaign for the Arts – Ireland (@Campaign4Arts) September 15, 2020
