Ravers Return To Liverpool For Trial Event

UK clubbers have finally returned to the dance floor for the first time since the pandemic began, as part of trials going on in Liverpool to see how venues can reopen.

Over 6,000 partygoers headed down to the warehouse in Liverpool across a two-day event that started on Friday.

Ticket-holders were not required to socially distance or wear face coverings, however they did need a negative Covid test result before being allowed in.

Liverpool is also set to host the UK's first restriction-free gig since Covid.Circus's The First Dance club nights, which are part of a series of government trials on crowd safety during Covid, are at the Bramley-Moore Dock warehouse.

Sven Väth, the Blessed Madonna and Jayda G are all performing on Friday night. Fatboy Slim is headlining on Saturday.

Scientists are using this weekend's event to look at whether crowds mixing and dancing indoors increases transmission of the virus. Public health expert Prof Iain Buchan, who is leading the research, tells Newsbeat his team will use carbon dioxide monitors to detect "pockets of stale air" in the venue.

There will be also be small cameras for the scientists to monitor people's movements.

Prof Buchan says a key question the trial event needs to answer is: "With all of those measures in place, do people still enjoy themselves?" "That's a really important part of making these events sustainable," he says.