The first nightclub event to take place in the UK in more than a year is coming to Liverpool on Friday 30 April and Saturday 1 May.
Legendary club night Circus will be hosting The First Dance as part of the national Events Research programme (ERP) which will see 6,000 clubbers across two nights take over Bramley-Moore Dock warehouse in an event which requires no social distancing or face coverings.
It will pave the way for clubs across the country to reopen their doors in the near future.
On the line-ups are:
Friday 30 April
- Sven Väth
- The Blessed Madonna#
- Jayda G
- Yousef
- Lauren Lo Sung
- Lewis Boardman
Saturday 1 May
- Fatboy Slim
- Yousef + special guest
- Hot Since 82
- Enzo Siragusa
- Heidi
- Jaguar
- James Organ
Doors will open from 2pm and as this event is part of a scientific experiment, tickets can only be purchased by Liverpool City Region residents.
Today (Wednesday 21 April), tickets will be on sale exclusively to those who have pre-registered. Any remaining tickets will go on general sale from TicketQuarter on Thursday 22 April from 9am. Tickets are from £32.50. Only one ticket can be purchased per person.
Drink and food concessions will be available onsite.
In order to be eligible for a ticket for this event you must be:
- Over 18
- Living in the Liverpool City Region and registered to a local GP
- Healthy and showing no sign of Covid-19 symptoms
You are strongly advised not to attend this event if you:
- Have been advised that you are clinically vulnerable
- Are shielding, or someone you live with is shielding
- Are pregnant
Other Liverpool events which form part of the ERP are:
The Good Business Festival – Wednesday 28 April
Sefton Park Pilot music festival – Sunday 2 May
Luna Cinema on the Waterfront – Friday 14 to Sunday 16 May
Other national ERP events are:
- World Snooker Championship, Sheffield Crucible Theatre
- League Cup Final
- FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium
Scientific Research
The ERP will be used to provide key scientific data into how events for a range of audiences could be permitted to safely reopen as part of the roadmap out of lockdown, commencing no earlier than June 21.
The review will be crucial to how venues and events could operate this summer.
For the nightclub pilot, scientists are looking to see if and how crowds mixing and dancing indoors increases the risk of transmission of Covid-19.
Ticketholders will have to take a Lateral Flow Test at a community testing site 24 hours before the event and will have to produce a negative result to gain entry. This test has to be taken at one of the city’s community testing sites located here.
As part of the research element of the programme, those attending will be urged to take an at-home PCR test on the day of the event and five days afterwards to ensure any transmission of the virus is properly monitored. This is a non-mandatory but important part of the event research data requested by the scientists.
Vaccine passports are not part of Liverpool’s pilot events programme.
For the latest FAQs click here
Circus Founder and DJ Yousef said:
“The First Dance is going to be a historic moment for electronic music and all events across in the UK.
“As the date nears and the weekend of events becomes closer to a reality, me and the team at Circus all share an almost overwhelming feeling of pride, emotion, excitement and of course responsibility for what lies ahead.
“Together with the team at Liverpool City Council, we have safely crafted these events together, with a singular focus to help the UK get closer to life beyond Covid, which for myself and Circus has been a great honour.
“We can’t wait to see the dance floor erupt time and time again as it has over the last 18 years! ”
Liverpool’s Director of Public Health, Matt Ashton, said:
“The ERP is all about getting back to doing what we love doing, safely.
“We’re all craving a return to normality and although we know the Covid-19 case rate is currently low – it’s still there, and new variants and international travel are still a real cause for concern.
“Staying in lockdown is not an option, so we need to understand what the best and safest way of reopening key events is.
“Thanks to promoters such as Circus, we are going to be able to gather vitally important scientific research which will provide a blueprint to opening up vital sectors of our economy locally and nationally.
“Events are an important part of the wellbeing, social fabric and economies of communities, particularly in Liverpool and there should be an enormous sense of pride that this city is taking a national lead in this hugely important research programme.”
Director of Culture Liverpool, Claire McColgan, said:
“This hasn’t been an easy process, and it’s particularly hard as the night time sector hasn’t been open for over a year.
“It will be a different event to what people are used to – from the ticketing process to getting a negative lateral flow test before you’re allowed entry. But anyone who attends will not only be helping to get clubs up and running in Liverpool, they will be pioneers for the whole country.
“So let’s get the data and play a part in making real change for the better.”
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