Comedy and cinema among Liverpool covid pilot projects

A comedy night at the arena will be the first ‘test’ event in a national study designed to help venues reopen to the public as Covid restrictions are lifted.

The Hot Water Comedy Club show at the M&S Bank Arena Auditorium on April 16 is the first of four events being staged in Liverpool as part of the project with the University of Liverpool and the DCMS.

It will be followed by three shows of the Luna Cinema at the Royal Albert Dock, The Good Business Festival Presents: Change Business for Good at ACC Liverpool and the Circus club.

Comedy fans attending the event at the Auditorium will need to take a lateral flow test. There will be no use of vaccine passports.

The Liverpool pilots will gather evidence associated with different settings and approaches to managing and mitigating transmission risk.

Along with lateral flow testing, they will explore how different approaches to social distancing, ventilation and test-on-entry protocols could ease opening and maximise participation.

Other events taking place across the country as part of the study include the FA Cup semi-final and final at Wembley, the Snooker World Championships at The Crucible and three 10k runs at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire.

Liverpool’s Director of Public Health Matt Ashton said: “Our experience as the pilot city for mass symptom-free testing means we have the knowledge and infrastructure in place to deliver complicated projects safely.

“We really hope we can help provide the scientific evidence needed to ensure the wider sector is able to open across the country in the coming months.

“This is a continuation of the city’s long-standing tradition of carrying out pioneering public health work that not only has an impact here, but also across the rest of the country and the wider world.”

Ticket details for the comedy show and other events are yet to be released.