The Dome's legendary Christmas decorations sparkle again, but with current Covid restrictions will anyone see them?

Christmas always comes early to George Street, the long-held tradition has been established by The Dome over the last two decades and, as anyone passing recently will have noticed, this year is no different. But while the exterior pillars glitter and gleam, will anyone get to experience the enchanting wonderland that awaits inside?

General Manager Steve Hall of The Dome with some of this year's Christmas decorations

General manager Steve Hall hopes so, but, of course, there’s no guaranteed right now. He says, “As ever, we have gone above and beyond. We have a fantastic welcome in the foyer with our hanging Christmas trees but the highlight for everybody is always a visit to The Grill Room and there, you will once again find our beautiful, staggeringly huge Christmas tree on top of the bar as well as all the usual pillar wraps with thousands of lights.”

In fact, it takes nearly half a million lights to give The Dome its Christmas sparkle and the annual transformation is the result of hundreds of hours of work by dozens of people.

Hall reveals. “In normal years, our little Christmas elves bustle away overnight after the day’s business to transform the venue. This year has been a bit different. We were able to take our time and do it over 10 days, but the same magic has been achieved. We sincerely hope we get approval to reopen next Monday and can start welcoming people in. This year particularly, everyone needs a bit of a lift and our Christmas decorations are just the thing to do that.”

The Dome's 2020 Christmas tree

Like restaurants and bars across the central belt, The Dome is currently experiencing its second enforced closure due to coronavirus restrictions. It has had “an absolutely devastating impact”, says Hall.

“First time around, at the end of August, the whole country was just coming out of lockdown so people were very understanding and appreciated we were all in the same boat. As the months have gone on and we hurtle towards November, people are starting to sound rather weary due to the further disruption and, most of all, the threat to their Christmas. I’m sensing a mood change. We have regular guests who come from all over the UK at Christmas and the disruption to their family reunion plans has left many heart-broken as they are forced to cancel reservations they made a year ago. We are a very family-friendly restaurant, so if the current regulations stay in place, a party of 10 say, all from the same family but different households won’t be able to gather together this year.”

A feeling within the hospitality industry that they are being unfairly targeted is shared by many of The Dome’s customers, reveals Hall. With a 36 year career in the hospitality business, he agrees and his credentials are impeccable. Having opened the city’s acclaimed Blue Cafe Bar he then spent five years as General Manager of The Tower, followed by seven years running The Witchery. His experience, and that of many of his contemporaries, could prove valuable during the current crisis, he believes, but no one is listening.

“We have a huge amount of expertise in this industry but nobody has asked my opinion or offered me any meaningful way to contribute to the debate. A visit to a few city centre venues will show you how well various mitigations have been put in place. I really am convinced one of the safest places you can be currently is in a well run pub. However, for those of us who have worked so hard to come up with solutions to the challenges presented by the guidance, it is heartbreaking to still see places that could do with advice on doing it better.”

The Dome's 2020 Christmas decorations - The Foyer

Candidly, he continues, “While some businesses in the city seem to see their Licensing Standards Officer with great regularity, there are also a huge number who could do with more regular visits. And we have to remember that supermarkets are part of the licensed trade too, given that they sell alcohol. I don't see why they shouldn't have to put in place the same care that we put into test and protect, for example. Those operators who are not getting it right should be encouraged to improve and ultimately, if they can't get it right, they should be closed down."

As Scotland prepares to adopt the new five level alert system, Hall observes, “We are constantly hearing from politicians that they are following the science but when it comes to the science in this case, it seems the figures suggest you are just as likely to contract coronavirus in a hospital as you are in hospitality. The percentages are similar.

“I was particularly interested to see the science coming out of Ulster where their scientific officer suggested the closure of hospitality contributes a reduction in the R number of less than point three percent. I would ask the Scottish Government, as they decide where to place us in their new levels scheme, to pay attention to the huge number of operators who are doing such a fantastic job welcoming a great number of the public safely.”

If The Dome is allowed to reopen next week, Hall will be delighted to welcome customers back to the venue, which has become an Edinburgh institution.

Steve Hall, General Manager of The Dome reveals their 2020 Christmas transformation

“We are enormously grateful for the support our customers have given us. Their message is clear, it's such a shame we are not being allowed to reopen and they can't wait to come back.”

And he has a plea for the First Minister, “Please let us reopen. We don't allow anybody into the building whether they are staff, contractors or indeed our guests until they have been temperature checked. Test and trace details are taken and our guests are chaperoned from the front door to their table. Mask wearing is now obligatory and we enforce that rigorously. Our guests consistently tell us that makes them feel safe and secure.”

He adds, “And our decorations always make people smile. This year particularly, I think people will be thrilled to see Christmas arrive early.”

If restrictions aren’t lifted, meaning The Dome must remain closed over the festive period, Hall has a plan for that too. “I'm not in any hurry to take them down,” he promises. “We'll just keep them up into 2021 and have a celebration then.”

The Dome's 2020 Christmas decorations

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