Crowds force pause of solstice sunrise live feed
Ignored advice to ‘not travel to’ Stonehenge
LONDON — Dozens of people have ignored advice not to travel to Stonehenge for the annual summer solstice celebrations, which were canceled Monday due to coronavirus concerns.
English Heritage, which looks after the Neolithic monument, had planned a live feed of the sunrise at Stonehenge for the second year in a row. But the organization said that program had to be interrupted because of safety concerns after “a number of people have chosen to disregard our request to not travel to the stones this morning.”
Thousands of people who tuned in to watch the sunrise at the stones online ended up watching pre-recorded footage before the live feed returned around 5 a.m.
Video from Britain’s PA news agency and elsewhere showed dozens of people gathering inside the stone circle, with some scaling a low fence to climb inside the restricted area to reach the stones. Some were seen dancing and others held a banner that read “Standing for Stonehenge.”
English Heritage said it was “disappointing” to see people “act in a way that put themselves, our staff and the police at risk” during a pandemic.
The summer solstice typically draws tens of thousands of people to the stone circle in southern England to celebrate the longest day of the year.
Wiltshire Police said despite a “minor incursion into the stone circle” early Monday, the solstice weekend was peaceful. One woman in her 50s was arrested in the area on suspicion of drunk and disorderly behavior, the force said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said England is on course to be able to lift coronavirus restrictions as planned on July 19, despite the spread of the delta variant.
But Johnson also warned that foreign travel is likely to continue to be disrupted this year, with delays and complications for travelers.
Officials will be studying pandemic data and vaccination rates in the U.K. and overseas as they weigh lifting restrictions in the days and weeks ahead, he said.
The spread of the delta variant has already forced the government to delay the fourth and final stage of its plan to ease pandemic rules in England, which was due to take effect Monday. Johnson pushed the date back by a month to July 19.
Speaking to a television crew, Johnson said “looking at where we are” and the effectiveness of vaccines against all the known variants, “I think it’s looking good for July 19 to be that terminus point.”
He confirmed ministers will be looking at whether to ease the requirement for travelers to quarantine on return to England if they’ve been fully vaccinated.