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Some 40,000 revellers flooded into Latitude festival this morning for the first major music event in nearly two years.
The huge festival, hosted at Henham Park in Suffolk, is the government’s first Freedom Day test, after all limits on social contact were lifted earlier this week.
Smiling campers armed with sleeping bags, rucksacks and suitcases queued on the grass in the morning sun before entering the campsite, where headline acts such as Wolf Alice, Bastille and Bombay Bicycle Club will perform.
Rows of colourful tents and teepees have been put up ready for the event, after organisers put the finishing touches to the showground over recent days.
An enormous blue-and-white big top and a yellow-and-blue tent has been put up, while stages, fences, portaloos and vans are also now in place.
Anyone attending the four-day festival must show proof of a negative lateral flow test or double vaccination, which means attendees can jump, dance and hug safely.
A statement on Latitude’s website says: ‘We have been working extremely hard to make sure that Latitude Festival can go ahead safely at full capacity.
‘After much discussion with the Government, I can now officially announce that we will be going ahead and that we will be joining the 3rd phase of the Event Research Programme as a test event.’
It adds: ‘After many months without live music and arts, we are ecstatic to return with a full capacity festival.
‘Restarting festivals is crucially important to the wellbeing of everyone in society and we hope that Latitude will be the first of many festivals to take place this summer!’
Some 40,000 revellers flooded into Latitude festival this morning for the first major music event in nearly two years
Festivalgoers sit amongst their tents at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk this afternoon
The huge festival, hosted at Henham Park in Suffolk, is the government’s first Freedom Day test, after all limits on social contact were lifted earlier this week
Festivalgoers sit amongst their tents at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk this afternoon
Smiling campers armed with sleeping bags, rucksacks and suitcases queued on the grass in the morning sun before entering the campsite, where headline acts such as Wolf Alice, Bastille and Bombay Bicycle Club will perform
A group of young revellers stock up on essentials as they make their way through the campsite at Latitude festival today
Rows of colourful tents and teepees have been put up ready for the event, after organisers put the finishing touches to the showground over recent days
Festivalgoers sit amongst their tents at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk this afternoon
Anyone attending the four-day festival must show proof of a negative lateral flow test or double vaccination, which means attendees can jump, dance and hug safely
Festivalgoers sit amongst their tents at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk this afternoon
Revellers were full of smiles as they arrived at the festival site this morning, armed with camping equipment for the four-day event
Festivalgoers sit amongst their tents at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk this afternoon
Festivalgoers arrive at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk this morning – the first major music event in nearly two years
Festivalgoers sit amongst their tents at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk this afternoon
A statement on Latitude’s website says: ‘We have been working extremely hard to make sure that Latitude Festival can go ahead safely at full capacity’
A group of happy campers arrive on site in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk, ready for this weekend’s Latitude festival
Festivalgoers sit amongst their tents at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk this afternoon
Some revellers even used wheelbarrows to bring in their belongings ahead of a bumper weekend of entertainment
It comes after it was revealed that the BBC Proms will also go ahead at full capacity this year, with audience members ‘strongly encouraged’ to wear masks and required to provide a negative lateral flow test, a positive PCR test or proof of double vaccination.
The 2020 edition featured a reduced orchestra playing to an empty auditorium due to coronavirus restrictions – with the singers placed in the stalls to ensure social distancing.
The return of the fully-fledged event will feature 52 concerts over 44 days featuring 30 orchestras and ensembles, more than 100 soloists and conductors and more than 2,000 musicians.
A statement from the broadcaster said: ‘The safety of our audiences is our main priority and we are taking every step we can to open the Proms safely without social distancing.’
Audience members over the age of 18 will be asked to provide a negative lateral flow test taken within 48 hours of the performance, or evidence of double vaccination provided via the NHS App or a letter provided by the NHS.
They can also offer proof of natural immunity based upon a positive PCR test taken within 180 days of the performance.
Audience members under the age of 18 will be asked for verbal confirmation from a parent or guardian that they have not received a positive test.
Additional tickets for the first half of the Proms will go on sale at 12pm on July 23, and tickets for the second half of the season go on sale at 9am on July 24.
This year’s programme includes a First Night premiere of Sir James MacMillan’s companion piece to Vaughan Williams’s Serenade To Music, co-commissioned with the charity Help Musicians and performed by a quartet of British singers.
Both established and emerging British talent will be celebrated, including violinist Nicola Benedetti, vocalist Karen Cargill, conductors Sir Mark Elder and Sir Simon Rattle, pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, mezzo-soprano Christine Rice and veteran conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner in his 60th Proms appearance.
The BBC Proms opens on July 30 and runs until September 11.
Glastonbury has now been canned, however, in news that will be a significant blow to thousands of devotees.
In May, Mendip Council gave the green light to a scaled-down concert at Worthy Farm featuring 50,000 attendees, a quarter of the usual number, and no camping.
Co-organiser Emily Eavis said the event would be a larger version of the Pilton Party, an annual fundraising concert for villagers, workers and local residents, and would be called Equinox.
However, she has now announced the concert will not happen due to ‘a number of reasons’.
Source: Daily Mail
