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UK festival organisers to keep measures in place

Organisers of major UK festivals have confirmed that they will ask attendees to provide evidence of their vaccination status or a negative Covid-19 test, even though pandemic-related restrictions have been lifted in most parts of the country today (July 19).

The Reading and Leeds Festival in England, as well as the Green Man, which takes place in the Brecon Beacons in Wales, have set out entry requirements for visitors. More stringent measures remain in place in Scotland.

“Just like many other festivals and events, Reading and Leeds Festival will ask all ticket holders aged 11 and over to demonstrate their Covid-19 status before entering the festival,” the organisers said in a statement on Facebook.

Ticket-holders for the August 27-29 festival will be asked to provide proof of having received their final vaccination dose at least two weeks earlier, or a negative lateral flow test on the day of arrival. Attendees who can also provide evidence of natural immunity due to a historic positive PCR test will also be granted entry.

Similar rules will apply for the Green Man, from August 19-22, although the negative lateral flow test can be recorded within 48 hours of arriving.

Event operators have been encouraged by the government to adopt such measures in an effort to curb the spread of infections, but such initiatives will not be mandatory.

The Silverstone race track in Northamptonshire set a new UK record for a crowd during the pandemic era yesterday (Sunday) as 140,000 fans attended Formula 1’s British Grand Prix.

The race was part of the UK Government’s Events Research Programme.

Image: Secretlondon / CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported / Edited for size