Liverpool gets ready for The 1st Dance
Photograph by:- Anthony Mooney - Circus 2018.

THE 1st nightclub event to take place in the UK in more than a year is coming to Liverpool, on Friday, 30 April 2021 and Saturday, 1 May 2021. Legendary club night Circus will be hosting The 1st Dance as part of the national Events Research programme (ERP) which will see 6,000 clubbers across 2 nights take over Bramley Moore Dock warehouse in an event which requires no social distancing or face coverings. It will pave the way for clubs across the country to reopen their doors in the near future.

Circus Founder and DJ Yousef said:- "The 1st Dance is going to be a historic moment for electronic music and all events across in the UK. As the date nears and the weekend of events becomes closer to a reality, me and the team at Circus all share an almost overwhelming feeling of pride, emotion, excitement and of course responsibility for what lies ahead. Together with the team at Liverpool City Council, we have safely crafted these events together, with a singular focus to help the UK get closer to life beyond Covid, which for myself and Circus has been a great honour. We can't wait to see the dance floor erupt time and time again as it has over the last 18 years!"

On the line ups are:-

Friday, 30 April 2021...

► Sven Väth

► The Blessed Madonna

► Jayda G

► Yousef

► Lauren Lo Sung

► Lewis Boardman

Saturday, 1 May 2021...

► Fatboy Slim

► Yousef + special guest

► Hot Since 82

► Enzo Siragusa

► Heidi

► Jaguar

► James Organ

Doors will open from 2pm and as this event is part of a scientific experiment, tickets can only be purchased by Liverpool City Region residents. On 22 April 2021 tickets went on general sale, from:- TicketQuarter.Co.UK.

In order to be eligible for a ticket for this event you must be:-

► Over 18.

► Living in the Liverpool City Region and registered to a local GP.

► Healthy and showing no sign of Covid19 symptoms.

► You are strongly advised not to attend this event if you:-

► Have been advised that you are clinically vulnerable.

► Are shielding, or someone you live with is shielding.

► Are pregnant.

Other Liverpool events which form part of the ERP are:-

► The Good Business Festival - Wednesday 28 April 2021.

► Sefton Park Pilot music festival - Sunday 2 May 2021.

► Luna Cinema on the Waterfront - Friday 14 to Sunday 16 May 2021.

Other national ERP events are:-

► World Snooker Championship, Sheffield Crucible Theatre, 2021.

► League Cup Final, 2021.

► FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, 2021.

The ERP will be used to provide key scientific data into how events for a range of audiences could be permitted to safely reopen as part of the roadmap out of lockdown, commencing no earlier than 21 June 2021. The review will be crucial to how venues and events could operate this summer. For the nightclub pilot, scientists are looking to see if and how crowds mixing and dancing indoors increases the risk of transmission of Covid19.

Director of Culture Liverpool, Claire McColgan, said:- "This hasn't been an easy process, and it's particularly hard as the night time sector hasn't been open for over a year. It will be a different event to what people are used to; from the ticketing process to getting a negative lateral flow test before you're allowed entry. But anyone who attends will not only be helping to get clubs up and running in Liverpool, they will be pioneers for the whole country. So let's get the data and play a part in making real change for the better."

Ticketholders will have to take a Lateral Flow Test at a community testing site 24 hours before the event and will have to produce a negative result to gain entry. This test has to be taken at 1 of the City's community testing sites located online.

As part of the research element of the programme, those attending will be urged to take an at home PCR test, on the day of the event and 5 days afterwards to ensure any transmission of the virus is properly monitored. This is a non mandatory, but important part of the event research data requested by the scientists.  Vaccine passports are not part of Liverpool's pilot events programme. 

Liverpool's Director of Public Health, Matt Ashton, said:- "The ERP is all about getting back to doing what we love doing, safely. We're all craving a return to normality and although we know the Covid19 case rate is currently low; it's still there, and new variants and international travel are still a real cause for concern. Staying in lockdown is not an option, so we need to understand what the best and safest way of reopening key events is. Thanks to promoters such as Circus, we are going to be able to gather vitally important scientific research which will provide a blueprint to opening up vital sectors of our economy locally and nationally. Events are an important part of the wellbeing, social fabric and economies of communities, particularly in Liverpool and there should be an enormous sense of pride that this City is taking a national lead in this hugely important research programme."

For the latest FAQs click  online.
 

Police Generally responded well to the exceptional circumstances of the Pandemic

OVERALL the Police service responded well to the challenge of policing the Covid19 Pandemic, a report has said:- "Based on an inspection of policing between March and November 2020, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said that although there were some inconsistencies, in general Police Forces took immediate and decisive action to respond to the extreme circumstances of the Pandemic."

HMICFRS found that during the 1st lockdown the demand on policing changed. There were fewer reports of some crimes such as theft and robbery, and an increased need to support the work of other frontline services as well as enforcing lockdown restrictions. This change meant forces utilised their resources differently. For example, some forces were able to clear backlogs of outstanding arrest warrants.

Inspectors also found that the fast paced announcement and introduction of new legislation affected some forces' ability to produce timely and clear guidance for staff. This sometimes led to confusion over the difference between government legislation and guidance, with the inspectorate stressing that the Police can only enforce legislation. The inspectorate acknowledged the criticism some forces faced for their interpretation of lockdown restrictions, including:- undertaking road checks to identify unnecessary journeys, drone surveillance, and Court summons for non essential shopping or excessive exercise.

While these actions were viewed by some as heavy handed or inconsistent, inspectors were assured that Police Forces had learnt from these instances and in general did well to maintain public trust. Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said:- "In these unprecedented times, the public looked to the Police to continue to keep them safe and to keep order. While daily life substantially changed for the majority of us, the Police were expected to continue to carry out their duties. Overall, the Police rose to the challenge with dedication and commitment by taking immediate and decisive action to keep people safe and prevent crime, while also learning lessons from the rare occasions that they got it wrong. We know that Police officers are on the frontline of Covid19, with some tragically losing their lives to the virus. I offer our condolences to all those who have lost relatives, friends or colleagues. We have made recommendations to help the Police improve their response to the Pandemic, and to prevent existing issues in policing being made worse. The Police, the criminal justice system and government need to work together to solve these problems."

The inspection found that Police Forces introduced new ways of working during the Pandemic that could provide future benefits to policing, such as incorporating video conferencing technology in order to continue working with local safeguarding services. However, some of the new ways of working adopted by Police Forces during the Pandemic may not be right for the long term. For example, to reduce infection risks some forces initially screened out more crimes that were unlikely to be solved, dealt with more victims indirectly, or reduced their in person visits to offenders. HMICFRS said that while these changes were sensible at the beginning of Pandemic, forces should consider the effect they could have on the public. HMICFRS made several recommendations to Police Forces, including:-

► Forces must immediately make sure that Police officers understand and correctly implement guidance for managing registered sex offenders during the Pandemic

► Forces must immediately ensure they are following self isolation guidance when staff come into contact with someone with Coronavirus symptoms

► Within 6 months, forces must assess the sustainability of any temporary measures made during the Pandemic that change the way they work

► HMICFRS also published a separate report about how Police Custody Services in England and Wales operated during the Covid19 Pandemic.

The inspection found that Police Forces need to collect comprehensive and accurate information to assess the ongoing impact that Covid19, and changes to working arrangements, are having on custody services. Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said:- "While those held in Police custody may not be everyone's 1st thought, there is a still a duty of care the Police has toward keeping these people safe. In many ways, custody work has carried on as usual. Overall the total numbers of people in Police custody from April to August last year slightly decreased compared to the same period in 2019, particularly for children. As with wider policing, Forces introduced measures to ensure their custody suites were safe and able to continue to operate. Although these measures, such as the use of video conferencing, were necessary, forces need to ensure that they review these practices to understand how suitable they are for the future."