Indoor business events, conferences and exhibitions can go ahead from October 2020 providing public health guidelines are followed, it has been announced.
Indoor gyms, swimming pools and sports facilities can also reopen from 25 July.
The news will come as a relief to the commercial events sector, which is worth approximately £32.6 billion to the economy annually and promotes 38 million international visits to the UK each year.
According to the announcement, “a number of pilots” will take place over the coming months to evaluate and plan how large-scale events can keep staff and visitors safe.
This could include requiring attendees to pre-book and pre-register to attend events, implementing contactless registration systems at entrances and impose one-way systems, removing physical badges and lanyards, and reducing event capacity to ensure social distancing measures can be observed.
Commenting on the news, Tourism Minister Nigel Huddleston said: “Business events and conferences are a key part of our visitor economy and this is an important step in getting them back up and running safely.
“Pilots will help inform our plans for the return of the sector in October with guests and staff adhering to social distancing and measures introduced to reduce close contact.”
The announcement comes as new guidance, published this month, outlines how hosts, event organisers and venue operators can keep guests and staff safe. Find it here.
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