Having a ball... revellers make most of pubs as fans return to the stands
BRITONS emerged from lockdown to celebrate at pubs, shops and sports events over the weekend.
‘Stupor Saturday’ saw revellers downing pints and cocktails outside bars, casting aside inhibitions, masks and any notion of social distancing.
And the partying continued in parks and beaches yesterday as people took advantage of the sun for boozy picnics and family gatherings.
Others celebrated freedom and a return to a more normal life with a shopping spree, bringing a familiar and welcome hum to streets robbed of people and trade due to Covid-19. Images captured from locations across the country, including London, Leeds and Newcastle, showed streets busy with groups keen to make the most of their new-found freedoms.
The hospitality sector had hoped to recoup some of its losses from the past year after outdoor service resumed in England last Monday – ahead of the rest of the UK. It is estimated that some 50,000 pubs and restaurants selling alcohol served six million pints on Saturday alone.
Meanwhile 4,000 fans watched the FA Cup semi-final between Leicester City and Southampton at Wembley Stadium yesterday – the biggest crowd to gather in a British sporting stadium for more than 12 months.
The match came a day after the first fans were allowed to enter the 2021 World Snooker Championships at The Crucible, in Sheffield. Yesterday’s pilot FA Cup match – which had entry restricted to residents of Brent, north-west London – was the first in a series of pilot football matches with gradually-increasing crowds.
Next Sunday’s Carabao Cup final between Manchester City and Tottenham, is set to have 8,000 spectators, while 21,000 are to be allowed into the FA Cup final on May 15.
Spectators were allowed at The Crucible from the beginning of this year’s World Championships which started on Saturday and continues for the next fortnight.
Crowds were restricted to one third of the normal 980-person capacity and people restricted to bubbles of up to four when inside.