England will be only country in UK where nightclubs are open on New Year's Eve - News - Mixmag
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England will be only country in UK where nightclubs are open on New Year's Eve

English nightclubs are expecting an increase in attendees coming from Wales and Scotland

  • Aneesa Ahmed
  • 29 December 2021
England will be only country in UK where nightclubs are open on New Year's Eve

England will be the only country in the UK to have nightclubs open on New Year's Eve.

Under current rules Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish nightclubs will be completely shut as part of re-introduced COVID-19 restrictions.

Read this next: "Are we being singled out?" : Welsh club owners express concerns over new restrictions

These regulations are having a worrying impact on the hospitality industry, which was hit hard by huge cancellations during the busiest season of the year owing to worries about the Omicron variant.

England, on the other hand, did not follow suit, with Health Secretary Sajid Javid saying on Monday that no additional restrictions will be implemented for the time being.

As there will be no additional COVID restrictions in England until at least 2022, individuals from Scotland and Wales are intending to cross the border to celebrate the New Year.

Read this next: The UK live sector is "on the verge of collapsing" due to Omicron, study finds

Border pubs in England are ready for 100,000 Scots and Welsh to cross on New Year's Eve, amid mounting fury at regional curbs as the Scottish government acknowledges it can't stop them.

Some have compared the expected influx of Scottish partygoers to scenes from the film Braveheart.

Bristol Live claims that there will be a "Welsh Invasion" of clubbers in Bristol on New Year's Eve.

They say that for people who live in South Wales, "the short trip across one of the Severn bridges will make Bristol's buzzing nightlife a tempting choice for New Year's Eve", especially as there are no restrictions on travelling.

Read this next: Documentary celebrating Scotland's rave culture now available on BBC IPlayer

iNews have said that many members of the public have expressed their confusion as to why different UK nations have different policies on COVID restrictions, claiming that this will inevitably lead to border crossing and the spread of the virus.

Read this next: How New Zealand beat COVID and got back to raving

According to a virologist at the University of Brighton, the conflicting measures made little logic and accomplished little to stop the virus from spreading.

Speaking to LBC, Dr Sarah Pitt said: “If people can’t go to a New Year’s Eve party in Wales or Scotland, they’ll just tip over the borders into England, won’t they, thus potentially taking the virus and spreading it… and then taking it back home.

“So it makes sense to have one set of measures across the whole country and I think it does make sense to have some measures to try and stop the spread of the virus at this point.”

Read this next: Partying through the pandemic

Speaking to Mixmag about their plans for New Years, one student from Scotland said that they would be returning to their university city in the West Midlands earlier than expected so that they can have a night out.

Others from mid-Wales told Mixmag that they are planning to cross the border into Shropshire to enjoy the full festivities of the New Year period.

Read this next: How to help clubs reopen safely and for the long haul

Aneesa Ahmed is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter

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