London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

Now let’s dance - clubs to reopen (with no Covid tests)

Now let’s dance - clubs to reopen (with no Covid tests)

Health checks are ‘too much hassle’ and ‘no exceptions’ for July 19 lifting

Nightclubs and music venues will reopen without people having to take Covid tests or show vaccine passports from July 19 in a major boost for London’s West End and the night-time economy, the Standard has learned.

Michael Gove, the Cabinet minister leading a review, is understood to believe it would impose “too much hassle” on the public and businesses to require tests for a night’s dancing. A government source said: “We are increasingly confident that people are protected and the plan is to reopen everything, with no exceptions.”

The verdict was hailed as a “godsend” by leaders of the night-time sector, which is worth an estimated £40 billion of added value to London’s economy. Simon Thomas, chief executive of the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square, said: “This would be a godsend to the night-time economy so we can relaunch central London to a global audience. It’s time to get on with life and live with this virus as we’ve lived with others before.”

It follows the success of the vaccination programme in breaking the link between cases and fatalities, and pilot schemes, including one at a nightclub, that showed “no substantial outbreaks” and strong compliance with mitigation measures.

Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said smaller nightclubs in particular would lose trade to pubs and restaurants if they were singled out for mandatory tests. “If you are in a late-night London pub and thinking of going on to the club around the corner, there’s a good chance that having to take a test would make you question whether to bother,” he said.

In further developments as the country heads towards Stage 4 of the roadmap out of lockdown:

Vaccine passports, formally called Covid status certificates, will not be mandatory for festivals and sporting events this summer, although organisers like the Premier League may choose to adopt them.

• Britons going abroad may be able to use the NHS app as a vaccine passport. New Health Secretary Sajid Javid is reported to be looking at integrating the UK app with the EU’s green pass system.

•People who have had two vaccine doses may no longer have to isolate for 10 days after close contact with a Covid carrier. Under plans being considered, they would take a daily lateral flow test for 10 days and be allowed out if they test negative.

Ministers are keeping open the option of tests or vaccine passports for indoor hospitality and entertainments this winter, but only if a surge of infections threatens Christmas openings.

Conservative MPs are pressing the Government hard to ditch passports. Mark Harper, chair of the Covid Recovery Group of MPs, told the Standard: “With so many people receiving protection from the vaccines, the justification for Covid status certification is incredibly weak.” Tests may still be asked for by some organisers of mass gatherings, such as larger festivals and sporting fixtures. Some think tests and passports could boost consumer confidence in big ticket purchases.

In Cabinet yesterday Boris Johnson declared himself “increasingly confident” about reopening safely. Even a controversial decision by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to protect London’s hosting of Euro 2020 games by letting thousands of football VIPs avoid quarantine is seen to have paid off after the England team’s success.

A formal decision on clubs is due by July 12, a week before the date to end restrictions. But in a sign of confidence, government research into Covid safety and crowd behaviour has shifted away from smaller venues to major gatherings, including Wimbledon and the Euro finals.

Results from the first wave of research, exclusively revealed in the Standard last month, found just 28 infections among 58,000 participants.

A report backed by 40 MPs in February said hundreds of London’s nightclubs and music venues could go dark for good without urgent help to survive the pandemic, which has forced most to stay closed for 15 months.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
×