BRIT music awards to host 4,000-strong audience in UK pilot event

LONDON — Some 4,000 people will attend the BRIT Awards next month, in what organizers of Britain’s pop music honors said would be the first major indoor music event with a live audience as the country emerges from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown.

The ceremony, to be held on May 11 at London’s O2 arena, will form part of the UK government’s Events Research Program, looking at whether major events can take place in closed environments without social distancing. This means audience members, of which 2,500 will be key workers who will be gifted tickets, will not have to wear face masks inside the arena but will have to provide proof of a negative lateral flow test result to enter the venue. They also have to take a test after the ceremony and provide contact details as part of the country’s COVID test and trace system.

“This has been a long tough year for everyone and I’m delighted the night will honor the key worker heroes who have cared for us so well during that time and continue to do so,” singer Dua Lipa, who is nominated for four awards, said in a statement. “They are quite simply an inspiration. The BRIT Awards are always special and this will truly make it a night to remember.”

Ms. Lipa is among several singers who will perform at the event, the first live music show at the O2 in more than a year.

Like elsewhere, COVID-19 pandemic shut down music events with live audiences in Britain. Under Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s phased roadmap out of lockdown, entertainment venues can re-open their doors next month. —