“It felt very surreal” the UK’s first festival opens after COVID restrictions eased

Record ID: 1628233

  • Title: “It felt very surreal” the UK’s first festival opens after COVID restrictions eased
  • Date: 22nd July 2021
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) 56 YEAR OLD FESTIVAL GOER, MAX WHITE, SAYING: “After such a difficult year it’s so nice to see so many people smiling and happy and, I don’t know, it just feels like the next stage even though it’s not over yet. It feels fantastic to be here.“ (SOUNDBITE) (English) 69 YEAR OLD FESTIVAL GOER, TREVOR STILGROVE, SAYING: “I think it’s just fabulous that people are taking responsibility for their own lives and their own welfare and actually thinking if we go here and we can look after our selves and then it’s kind of okay, we kind of need to get on with our lives and live them, and it’s fabulous here.“ (SOUNDBITE) (English) 48 YEAR OLD FESTIVAL GOER, KAREN WARNE, SAYING: “It’s just really really really happy, everyone is so helpful and friendly, I mean not that they weren’t before but it's just, yes everyone seems so happy to be out and about and yeah, just celebrating.“ SLOW MOTION VIDEO OF FESTIVAL-GOERS MAKING GIANT BUBBLES SLOW MOTION VIDEO OF GIANT BUBBLES (SOUNDBITE) (English) FOUNDER OF LATITUDE FESTIVAL, MELVIN BENN, SAYING: “There was some doubt after June 21 and you know the cancellation of what was freedom day, putting it back to the 19th of July really put me under pressure really, because you know, we open just two days later, three days later. But what I managed to do is persuade the government to allow us into the events research program, and that gave me a surety that it would happen. And that’s why we’re here effectively, the government are testing the NHS app, you know, with a view to how the NHS app will work, long-term, for you know full capacity shows effectively.“
  • Embargoed: 5th August 2021 23:49
  • Keywords: Henham Park England Latitude festival Music festival coronavirus restrictions
  • Location: HENHAM PARK, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City: HENHAM PARK, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Europe,Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA006EMXB2VB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Thousands of people poured into the grounds of the Latitude music festival in eastern England on Thursday (July 22), one of the biggest gatherings since most coronavirus restrictions were lifted earlier this week.
    The four-day festival, expected to attract around 40,000 people, comes as COVID-19 cases across the country broadly rise. Music lovers arriving on a balmy summer's day had to show they had been vaccinated twice or tested negative for the disease.
    "I guess I'd kind of say, 'If not now, when are we going to start back up again?'" said Katy Mckenna, 21.
    "A lot of us have had at least our first dose of the vaccine, so we're ready to get back to life, and all the musical performers have had a year off and they deserve a festival (so) they can get back out there and perform."
    Sheep painted pink grazed on the grass, crowds milled around giant marquees and people erected their tents before heading to the main stages to hear their favourite acts.
    The government test event will carry on without social distancing measures or the need to wear masks, and organisers have designed marquees without sides and installed air purifiers in some areas to mitigate the risk of the virus spreading.
    "All the plans were in place, all the bands were in place, people were just, you know desperate to come, desperate to play, desperate to work, and really be out in a field enjoying themselves again, and that's what we're doing," said festival founder Melvin Benn.
    Among the acts headlining the festival are Damon Albarn, Wolf Alice, Rudimental and The Chemical Brothers.
    (Production: Natalie Thomas)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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