Indoor entertainment in Scotland: When will bingo halls, theatres, clubs and music venues reopen?

Indoor locations such as museums, galleries, monuments, cinemas and libraries will reopen in phase three

On 20 August, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the dates on which bingo halls, casinos, snooker halls, standing concerts and bowling alleys and other indoor business can reopen as part of the next steps in the phase route map out of lockdown.

However, in her most recent speech, she announced a delay to certain business’ reopening times, and an extension of phase three.

Here is a run down of the latest information.

When will theatres and bingo halls reopen and indoor events restart?

During the First Minister’s 24 June announcement, she stated that indoor entertainment, such as “theatres, bingo halls, nightclubs, casinos and other ‘live’ entertainment venues will not reopen until a later date.”

This statement was reflected in Scotland’s phased route map out of the coronavirus crisis, which stipulated that activities such as “live indoor events (with physical distancing and restricted numbers)” and “bingo”, as well as “nightclubs, theatres, music venues” would be allowed to reopen later on in phase three.

However the plan stated this is “unlikely to be [allowed] before 23 July and will be “subject to further public health advice”.

On 20 August, Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the date on which bingo halls, amusement arcades, casinos, snooker and pool halls, and bowling centres will reopen as Monday 24 August.

Last month on 29 July, Sturgeon announced an indicative reopening date for indoor entertainment venues such as theatres and live concert venues as 14 September 2020, so long as these venues adhere to physical distancing requirements. However, this did not include nightclubs.

This was confirmed in her recent announcement on 20 August 2020.

However, this week the First Minister revealed that these indoor entertainment venues due to reopen on September 14 will now have to wait even further.

The date on which these venues should reopen will be reviewed on October 1, with a view to reopening them on October 5.

When will museums, art galleries and cinemas reopen?

In her announcement on 29 July, Ms Sturgeon said that the tourism industry in general, including businesses such as pubs, restaurants and hotels, was set to reopen from 15 July.

She then announced the Scottish government’s intention for “indoor locations such as museums, galleries, monuments, cinemas and libraries” to also reopen from that date “but with precautions in place - for example, tickets being secured in advance – and of course subject to physical distancing and strict hygiene.”

The reopening of these venues went ahead on 15 July.