Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed this morning that gyms are likely to be given the green light to reopen “in just a couple of weeks time”.
He appeared live on LBC this morning and took questions from the public.
Speaking to Nick Ferrari, the Prime Minister said: “We are going to reopen gyms as soon as we can do it in a COVID-secure way and I think that the date for reopening gyms at the moment, if we can do it, is in just a couple of weeks’ time.”
Boris Johnson says the government is trying to reopen theatres in a Covid-secure way "as soon as possible" but doesn't say if there will be financial support for the arts industry. #BorisOnLBC | Watch Live: https://t.co/wTagOJbxR2pic.twitter.com/KWaejaeNwu
The Prime Minister addressed the reopening of gyms upon Nick Ferrari’s questioning of why lockdown guidelines in England enable members of the public to “go to the pub [but not] go to the gym” and it comes after the widespread frustration across the country, from both the fitness industry and eager gym users, that indoor gyms were not included in the plans to reopen along with many other sectors on 4th July.
Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, also discussed the reopening of gyms this week on social media, and with UK Active, in a tweet that read: “Grateful to health experts from Public Health England for visiting gyms this morning with to look at the safety measures in place”.
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“Gyms have been working hard on this and I pay tribute to all those helping to get them reopened as soon as we can”.
Grateful to health experts from Public Health England for visiting gyms this morning with @_ukactive@DCMS to look at the safety measures in place#Gyms have been working hard on this & I pay tribute to all those helping to get them reopened as soon as we can!@Sport_Englandhttps://t.co/Ca24QGlJIi
Speaking ahead of Public Health England’s visit this week, Huw Edwards, Chief Executive of UK Active – which represents thousands of gyms and leisure centres in the UK – said: “Many people will be understandably frustrated by the decision not to reopen the fitness and leisure sector from 4 July,”
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“Our sector’s safety standards are among the highest in Europe, where other nations have already reopened their gyms and leisure facilities safely.”
“We have invited government and health officials to visit any of the hundreds of gym and leisure centre show sites across the country, and witness how facilities would operate with thorough social distancing measures and hygiene standards in place.”
“Any further delay to our reopening will threaten our nation’s recovery from COVID-19.”
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“With obesity the second largest cause of hospitalisation from this virus, gyms and leisure centres are equipped to not only combat COVID-19, but to support rehabilitation for those recovering from the virus”.
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An exact official date for the reopening of gyms in the UK has not been confirmed at this moment in time.
High School Musical at Lowry, Salford – a night spent reliving our childhood | Review
Amy Williams
What a night spent reliving our childhood.
Now, I don’t want to exaggerate or seem biased, considering this is one of my favourite film trilogies of all time, but this could be the best stage show I’ve seen in a long while.
We all know how High School Musical goes, right? Set at East High, we follow Troy and Gabriella (the star basketball player, and the geeky new girl) who meet over New Year, and then become ‘star-crossed lovers’ when back at school as they’re part of two different ‘cliques’.
The duo mess with the ‘Status Quo’ when they audition for the school musical. But will they stick to what they know? Or become stars of the stage? I’m sure you know the ending.
High School Musical is currently on stage at Lowry, Salford / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
From the costumes and the characters, to the memorable songs (there’s actually 52 songs in this production, including a mega mix at the end), they’ve kept right to the script of the films – and that’s exactly what we wanted to see.
Of course, the biggest throwback of them all is Kaycee Stroh – who originally featured as Martha Cox in the film trilogy – taking the role as Ms Darbus, and she was just as incredible as we expected her to be. And to see her do the iconic dance in the finale was unbelievable, 13-year-old Amy was screaming.
Also featuring Jason Donovan as Coach Bolton, Tobias Turley as Troy, Leonor Correia as Gabriella, Caitlin Tipping Sharpay, and Luke Bayer as Ryan, it was a proper impressive cast all round.
It’s a night to properly relive your mid-00s childhood / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
There was crowd interaction right from the off, as they taught the crowd a cheerleading routine to be included later in the show, plus for the finale, they had the lyrics on the big screen too so everyone could sing-along.
If we could go and see this show every single night, we would – it is absolutely brilliant.
Fontaines D.C. announce massive return to Manchester on new European tour
Daisy Jackson
Fontaines D.C. have just announced their biggest headline tour to date, including a massive arena gig here in Manchester.
The wildly popular Irish rock band are set to play a whopping 20 arena shows across Europe and the UK this autumn.
The tour has been announced in celebration of their upcoming fifth studio album, Dopamine Chamber, which is set for release this October.
Fontaines D.C. will hit the road just five days after the album drops, kicking off their European tour in Lisbon on 21 October.
Then they’ll make their way over to the UK, with shows in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham and London.
Fans in their home country of Ireland are told to stay tuned for live news very soon.
As we speak, Fontaines D.C. are warming up to play one of the country’s biggest festivals, with headline slots at Reading & Leeds Festival.
They’ve already released Marianne, the first single from their new album, and frontman Grian Chatten says of the album: “The album itself is a dopamine chamber. You step inside and we test these different mind- or mood-altering pieces of music on you.”
The new record has been recorded between London, the English countryside, and Palermo, where Chatten recorded vocals in a makeshift booth built from mattresses and cushions.
He said: “There’s a poignant sense of us being on the brink of some other kind of form of humanity, or non-humanity.”
Tickets will go on general sale at 10am on Thursday 3 September, with pre-sale live from 10am on Tuesday 1 September.
You can access tickets for Fontaines D.C. in Manchester HERE.
Fans who pre-order Dopamine Chamber from the official store by 6pm on Monday 31 August will gain access to the UK pre-sale.
Fontaines D.C. UK tour dates in full
Friday 20 November – Liverpool, UK – M&S Bank Arena
Saturday 21 November – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
Sunday 22 November – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Tuesday 24 November – Leeds, UK – First Direct Bank Arena
Wednesday 25 November – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
The Manc -
3rd July 2020 
