On Sunday 2 May, Festival Republic will host an outdoor gig at Sefton Park, Liverpool, as the latest event to join the government’s Events Research Programme to get large audiences back to live events safely this summer.

The Sefton Park Pilot, in partnership with Culture Liverpool, will further trial approaches to managing and mitigating transmission risks at outdoor events, building on the evidence collected at today’s FA Cup semi-final fixture at Wembley and other events in the programme. The evidence from these pilots will be used to inform and shape government policy to bring about the phased return of fuller audiences to venues and events across England.

Researchers on site will examine the movements and behaviour of the crowd of 5,000 people at Sefton Park, which can host audiences of up to 7,500 at full capacity. The audience will not be socially distanced or required to wear face coverings in the controlled setting of the test event. They will be required to follow existing Government guidance on the use of face coverings when travelling to the venue and adhering to rules set out by the event organisers.

Ticket holders will be required to take a rapid lateral flow test at a local testing centre prior to entry to trial the role these facilities could play in the return of large scale events. All attendees must have proof of a negative test result to ensure the safety of staff and other attendees. Attendees will also be asked to take a test after the event to gather further evidence on the safety of outdoor settings, reduced social distancing and the removal of non-pharmaceutical mitigations like face coverings.

They will also have to provide contact details for NHS Test and Trace to ensure everyone can be traced in the event of a positive test.

The first event as part of the scientific trial began on Saturday 17th April, with the World Snooker Championships. The Championships are due to run until 3 May, welcoming up to 1,000 spectators a day to the Sheffield Crucible Theatre to test an indoor seated setting.

The information gathered from events as part of the Research Programme will be crucial to how all venues - from major sport stadiums and theatres to wedding venues, conference centres and nightclubs - could operate safely this summer. The programme of pilots will explore how different approaches to social distancing, ventilation and testing protocols could ease opening and maximise participation.

Source: gov.uk

Guidance about the Events Research Programme (ERP), paving the way for larger audiences to attend sport, theatre and gigs safely this summer has also been published.