A few weeks ago, I detailed what was going on with nightclubs across the UK. You see, the largely London based dance music press don’t typically give a fig about anything going on outside their immediate area. Unless they’re being paid for it or it’s handed to them in a press release, they’re not interested.
The gist of it was Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all had no dates of any kind that nightclubs might reopen. I thought it was time for an update. So, has anything changed in the past few weeks?
If you’re in Wales, the answer is time – they now have a date when they can start clubbing again. Barring any last minute hiccups, nightclubs across the country can reopen again from August 7th. However, it appears the Welsh Parliament insists face masks will have to be worn inside them.
Those of you in Scotland and Northern Ireland? There’s no further news from me, I’m afraid. Scotland is due to remove many legal restrictions on August 9th, but nightclubs are not mentioned. Northern Ireland has only just allowed theatres to reopen – and that’s with social distancing still in place, so nightclubs could be a long way off.
In the meantime, a question or two about the mysterious Night Time Industries Association. A while ago, they announced in a blaze of publicity that they were suing the Scottish government over their refusal to name a date. Seeing they refuse to answer my emails on the subject, I shall ask my three questions here.
- Has legal action against the Scottish government started yet and at what stage are proceedings?
- Does the Night Time Industries Association have any plans to launch legal action against the Northern Ireland Executive, who are also refusing to set a date?
- Who is actually paying for this legal action?
I’ll keep digging…