The sports venues of England will be able to receive the spectators again from next Monday, the prime minister has confirmed.
Boris Johnson told a news conference Monday afternoon that the government was proceeding with its plan to take the third step on its coronavirus recovery roadmap, first laid out on February 22.
“We will unlock the turnstiles at our sports stadiums subject to capacity limits,” Johnson said in his keynote speech while detailing the further relaxation of the lockdown in England.
It means that outdoor venues with larger seats will be able to accommodate up to 10,000 spectators starting next week.
The Premier League postponed its penultimate round of matches until May 18 and 19 so that all clubs could play a match in front of fans before the end of the season on May 23.
The league confirmed last week that the games will be open only to local fans.
For smaller outdoor venues, capacity will be limited to 4,000 or 50 percent, whichever is lower. The maximum limit of the indoor enclosure will be 1,000 or 50 percent, whichever is lower.
The decision to ease restrictions comes as the country continues to benefit from an accelerated vaccination program and a drop in deaths and hospitalizations related to Covid-19.
The government hopes to allow venues to admit significantly more spectators as of June 21 and has established an Event Research Program (ERP) to test different security measures at a variety of sporting and cultural ‘pilot’ events with in order to achieve that.
The first ERP sporting event that spectators attended this year was the first day of the World Snooker Championship on April 17, and the crowd at the Crucible Theater in Sheffield increased as the tournament progressed, culminating with a packed house for the end on May 2 and 3.
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The FA Cup semi-final led the way
The FA Cup semi-final between Leicester and Southampton at Wembley on April 18 was the first outdoor sporting event to welcome spectators, although it was limited to residents and key workers who live locally at the stadium.
The Carabao Cup final the following weekend was the first outdoor event attended by fans of the clubs involved. Manchester City and Tottenham were able to offer tickets to 2,000 fans each.
So far there have been no major setbacks at the ERP, which continues on Saturday when 21,000 people will go to the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Leicester at Wembley, where Prince William will be on hand to present the trophy to the winners.
It was confirmed on Monday that the Duke of Cambridge and the FA president will attend the game.
The government announcement is a key milestone for clubs and associations that depend on spectators attending live events for much of their revenue.
Before the ERP, the last time spectators attended live sporting events was in December 2020, when crowds were allowed at levels one and two of the government’s regional approach to addressing the pandemic that was in effect at the time.
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