Liverpool to test Covid crowd safety in roadmap pilot

Liverpool's cultural heritage has helped it become a magnet for events and tourism

Liverpool will be part of a pilot scheme to test crowd safety before lockdown rules ease later this year.

The government said it will work with organisers to get spectators for test events at a nightclub, comedy club and business events venue in the city.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said they would help audiences return "safely without social distancing".

Regional mayor Steve Rotheram said that the return of events was "fundamental" for economic recovery and wellbeing.

The test events - including the FA Cup final and the World Snooker Championship - will take place nationwide this spring as part of the government's Events Research Programme (ERP).

The FA Cup final, played behind closed doors in 2020, is among the proposed pilot events

They will provide data into reopening venues in line with the prime minister's four-stage roadmap out of lockdown, which aims to remove all restrictions in England by 21 June.

Participating venues will collect evidence and share their experience with others in the event economy.

Anyone attending the events will be required to have a negative Covid-19 test beforehand and will also be tested afterwards to ensure any viral transmission is monitored.

Researchers will study audience movements at the test events, some of which will include spectators not socially distanced while "under carefully controlled medical supervision", a government spokesman said.

Mr Dowden said the ERP would "be guided by the science and medical experts".

"We want to get the people back to enjoying what they love and ensure some of our most important growth industries get back on their feet."

Liverpool FC's stadium has been a hub for mass testing and vaccinations

Claire McColgan, director of culture and tourism in Liverpool, described the area as "an event city", with the industry forming "a critical part of our economy".

She added: "Our experience as the pilot city for mass testing means we have the knowledge and infrastructure in place to deliver complicated projects safely".

Mr Rotheram said the area was "famed for its sports, hospitality and leisure sectors and visitor economy, which are worth over £5 billion a year and support over 50,000 jobs".

"Re-starting this sector safely is not only fundamental to our economic recovery but also to our collective wellbeing, as we are hopefully able to start re-connecting with each other socially in the coming weeks and months."