David Gregory-Kumar
Science correspondent, BBC Midlands Today

As ever with coronavirus, today is all about risk.

The government has decided that despite an incomplete vaccination campaign and the arrival and spread of the Indian variant (B.1.617.2) it is still opening things up today.

Image source, PA Media

There are scientists who are very worried the new variant could be much more infectious meaning there's a real chance we will see another peak in deaths as big as any that have gone before.

But the government has decided to go ahead with relaxing lockdown. That's a risk on their part.

And now each of us have to make a decision about what sort of personal risk we are prepared to take with our health and the health of those around us.

Asking people if they've been vaccinated before deciding whether or not to hug them? Sitting inside a badly ventilated pub where people are shouting and singing? It's all about risk.

Whatever any of us decide today, we'll be watching the numbers as all those little decisions we all take add up to the big picture the government has to deal with in a few weeks' time.

At The Ship Tavern in Holborn, pub supervisor Gintras Rinkevas says he's noticed customers seem happier than before lockdown.

"I think everyone appreciates being out and about more" he told the BBC.

"They've got more patience and more respect for waiters, people are happier I assume."

Mr Rinkevas said that as with many London pubs and restaurants, he thought it would be hard to get a table as they are almost fully booked up for the next few weeks.

John Bowness
BBC Radio Cumbria reporter

Pubs are now allowed to serve indoor drinks following the easing of lockdown restrictions in England and for one landlord it's not a moment too soon.

Matt Bailes, who runs the Stag Inn at Dufton on the edge of the Pennines, said a marquee in place for outdoor drinkers over recent weeks "decided it wanted to live next door" and was blown 50ft (15m) by heavy winds on Saturday 8 May.

Reflecting on the rules now in place, he added: "It's been a long journey. It's hopefully going to be the start be the start of a really good summer.

"It's going to be great - just getting the atmosphere back and the buzz at the bar, having everyone sitting around chatting.

"Tables will be well spaced, drinkers will have to be seated and anyone who gets up from their chair will need to put a mask on. As long as everyone adheres to the guidelines it should be fairly manageable.

"We've got everything in place, such as sanitisers, and the staff know the rules so it's a matter of getting the doors open and the beer flowing."

The company had hoped to operate from its Welsh base from Easter but Covid restrictions forced delays.

"We all feel a sense of responsibility to everyone watching." That's the feeling shared by many of the 39 acts performing at Eurovision 2021. After a year off because of coronavirus, organisers say postponing again "was never a consideration". So how do you safely put on an event of this size in the middle of a pandemic? Newsbeat's music reporter Steve Holden has been to Rotterdam to find out. Filmed and edited by Woody Morris.

Rules on socialising indoors and foreign travel are lifted in England, Wales and most of Scotland.

Image source, Adventure Island

Roy Macphail runs a soft play as part of his Adventure Island children's activities centre in Stornoway, Lewis, in the Western Isles.

But Roy says the "surprising but welcome" Scottish government announcement that most islands would be moving to level one a week ago did not leave enough time to be ready to open the soft play area today.

He says: "The soft play has been closed since March last year.

"The announcement was surprising as we hadn't expected to move to tier one at this stage, but it's great to see things moving in the right direction.

"Our aim is to open the soft play in early June. There's a huge amount required to get the facility operational again after being closed for so long and to ensure we meet with government guidelines to provide a safe and fun environment for our customers and staff."

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

The owner of the Green Dragon Hotel in Hereford says he is "absolutely thrilled, over the moon and jumping up and down on the beds" to be reopening today.

Managing director Julian Vaughan said the last 18 months of the pandemic has cost them more than £1m in lost trade.

But with today's reopening, bookings are picking up.

"The weekends are very popular, we are seeing high occupancy there with leisure so city breaks, people coming to enjoy Herefordshire and the wider things to do in Herefordshire," he said.

Image source, Raasay Distillery

Now while most of Scotland's mainland moves from level three to two - with the exception of Glasgow and Moray - most of the islands have moved straight to level one.

"There is a definite buzz and feeling of expectation," says Alasdair Day, of Raasay Distillery.

The isle of Raasay is among Scottish islands to move down to level one with the opening back up of all visitor attractions.

Just across the Sound of Raasay and the isle's larger neighbour, Skye, is at level two because of its road bridge link to the mainland.

Alasdair says: "Monday is the first time since the end of March last year we have been able to open the accommodation.

"We've been busy making sure the painting and decorating, cleaning and staffing is already."

"We are also launching our core single malt. Monday is going to be a big day," adds Alasdair.

Image source, R&B Distillers

An Ulster Bank survey finds a return to growth and high confidence but rising costs cause concern.

Image source, UK Parliament

Paul Scully MP, Minister for London, told BBC London: "I'm really confident. There's a pent up demand and people are really looking forward to coming out and enjoying London.

"In terms of the Underground, the bus network, hospitality sector and cultural sector, they're all ready to give people a safe and warm welcome."

However, despite his optimism he has cautioned people to remember some restrictions are still in place.

He said: "We're really determined that this roadmap goes one way only, but we've got to be really careful.

"We've got to remind people that the virus has not gone away, so they need to stay alert, to adhere to ‘hands, face, space’.

"Because there are variants out there which we're monitoring and carrying out surge testing in areas of concern to make sure we stay on top of the virus and not just chase it."

The new-found freedoms for England, Scotland and Wales can be tough for those with anxiety.

Kathryn Stanczyszyn
BBC Radio WM

Passengers leaving from Birmingham Airport to go on holiday "is a bit of a novelty, unfortunately", for the airport's chief executive Nick Barton.

The first flight to Portugal departed this morning with 118 passengers after they went through extra paperwork to check-in, including showing negative Covid test results.

With the ban on foreign holidays lifted, 12 countries are on the government's green list but the vast majority of tourist destinations remain on the amber and red lists.

Mr Barton says their only real destination to a green list country is Portugal but a few routes from the airport are being opened up to amber list countries.

"Greece is on there and some destinations in Spain, so we will see how those go, but of course there is a quarantine requirement on return from those destinations, but we will see what passengers think," he said.

Museums, galleries and some of London's most famous tourist attractions are reopening.

At the Tower of London, social distancing measures mean that little more than a fifth of their normal visitor numbers will be allowed in.

Debra Whittingham, deputy governor at Tower of London, said: "This time of year we'd be looking at having 10-15,000 people a day. The maximum we're going to be allowed to have in is about 3,300.

"So it's still going to be hard to get back to where we were until all the restrictions are lifted," she added.

“We're also waiting for international tourism to open up, as 70% of our visitors are normally from overseas."

But she added, there has never been a better time to come if you are from the UK.

"It'll be quiet, there won't be much queuing, you'll have some serenity."

The storm is expected to make landfall in India's western state of Gujarat.

Calum Franklin, executive chef at Holborn Dining Room, says he and his team are excited to have people back in their restaurant.

He told the BBC: "It's gone mad as we've opened the terrace [which] has been full, now we've seen it with the restaurant opening, we're going to be full again in here.

"I think people are desperate to go out, meet their friends, eat with their family outside, it's like a novelty. It's like restaurants never existed before and now we can do this cool thing suddenly."

There are 16 cases of the Indian Covid-19 variant in Northern Ireland, BBC News NI understands.

Blackpool's Sea Life Aquarium reopens as Covid-19 restrictions ease across England.

Setting up a business is never easy, so what is it like to set up a restaurant with the added complications of a global pandemic and restrictions?

As restaurants get ready to re-open inside today Graham Rebak, co-owner of new restaurant HUŎ in Chelsea, tells the BBC about the hurdle's he's faced over the last year.

"Since we found the site in April 2020 it's been difficult all the way through. Finding tradesmen, craftsmen, builders to do the project was fraught with difficulty.

"And there were some times where you had to shut the premises because there was a fear there might have been an outbreak," he said.

"But we've battled through it and now we're hopefully looking forward to opening on 1 June. "

Mr Rebak said he had also noticed less people were replying to job adverts, something he has put down to many people moving out of the city during the pandemic.

"Finding people, in normal times, to respond to the advert you'd have hundreds of responses but now we're seeing far fewer responses so it's pring difficult but we're slowly getting there."

Kathryn Stanczyszyn
BBC Radio WM

Most people went through the check-in process quite smoothly this morning at Birmingham Airport, but there have been the odd hiccups.

Joanne and Graham Anderson, from Streetly, Sutton Coldfield, are heading to Portugal to celebrate Graham's 60th birthday.

But they almost did not go as they found in the queue they had not filled in the passenger locator form, to show where they would be in Portugal.

However, Graham said staff had been quick to help them sort it out: "They are ever so helpful here and helped us immensely so it has been great."

Overall, Joanne said they had had to take a lot of papers with them for the other checks "but it has got to be done" as they head off for some sunshine.