COVID information - "Reopen every venue safely"
We want to welcome you back as safely as we can to full capacity gigs at The Forum, we can't wait to see you. But as we do that, we are asking for your help and understanding, and that we, the live music community, make the effort to be kind to each other.
UPDATE 27 JAN
Restrictions have been lifted by the government and local health authority.
We will continue to use our UVC air filtration and purification system and you are still of course welcome to wear a face covering if you so wish. There is no entry requirement to prove vaccination status.
Any advice in the paragraphs below still applies.
UPDATE 10 DEC
Events are still going ahead as planned at the Tunbridge Wells Forum.
MASKS
From Friday 10 December, face coverings will be mandatory in most indoor public areas in England but there are exemptions where it is not practical, such as when eating, drinking, exercising or singing. For that reason, face masks will not be mandatory in The Forum.
We encourage visitors to the Forum to wear face coverings if they wish to do so.
VACCINE PASSPORTS
From Wednesday 15 December, Covid Status Certification or Lateral Flow Test information will be required for entry in certain settings, this does not include The Forum.
It will be mandatory for, amongst others...
• All nightclubs, and other venues open after 1am with alcohol, music, and dancing, irrespective of capacity.
• Indoor unseated venue settings with 500 or more attendees where those attendees are likely to be in close proximity to people from other households, such as larger music venues.
The Forum does not sit in either of these two categories.
LATERAL FLOW TESTS
We strongly encourage our audience members, performers and staff members to take a lateral flow test before visiting the venue. If you are presented with positive test and/or cannot attend an event because you are suffering COVID symptoms, we can refund you fully.
Further information can be found below. This policy was written in cooperation with the Music Venue Trust, the government Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the local authorities.
Six Ways to Enjoy a Safe Visit to The Forum:
1. Before coming to one of our events, we recommend that you do everything you can to make sure that you personally are not infectious.
You can do this by:
• Getting vaccinated when/if possible
• Taking a lateral flow test
• Registering that you are immune (because of previous infection)
To be clear; we don't believe that we should operate a policy of excluding you from our venue because you haven't done those things. We will not be operating a certification or passport model to enter our shows. We are just asking you to be kind and thoughtful and do it for the safety of everyone else and for our staff.
2. Our staff will be wearing masks during events as it reduces the risk of direct droplet transmission.
You can also choose to wear a mask whenever you like during the event. No one will force you to wear a mask, you can be kind and thoughtful and choose to wear one when it isn't inconvenient. If you are vulnerable, we strongly recommend that you wear a mask if you are able, and avoid close contact with gig goers who have chosen not to wear a mask.
3. During our period of closure we have installed UVC air filtration.
This is a scientifically proven method of reducing airborne pathogens. It is 99.6% effective against Covid, destabilising the virus and making it inactive. This system effectively removes the risk of aerosol transmission, which is the cumulative build up of airborne pathogens within our venue. We have installed this throughout the building and you will see it on various surfaces (it gives off a distinctive blue glow)
4. We will be adopting a new policy of encouraging you to use our outside spaces, front and back, before, between and after performances.
The front and rear doors of the venue will be open during the gaps between performances, which will enable air to circulate and reduce both aerosol and droplet risk. Please use our outside spaces, and please help us to close these doors prior to performances to avoid creating noise nuisance.
5. We will be deep cleaning the building regularly, and we will be using contact cleaning solutions which reduce the risk of contact infections.
There will be additional sanitising units around the building, and we ask you to please play your part in keeping the build-ing clean from contact risk by regularly washing your hands and using the santisier.
6. If you have Covid symptoms, or believe you may have been exposed to infection, please do not attend one of our shows.
Our offer to you; if you are suffering from Covid symptoms, or fear you may be an infection risk, we will offer a refund on your ticket.
That's all. Just six things that will be different, some we have done, some are for you to do, some that we can do together. We can summarise these six things with one simple thing that everyone can do:
Be Kind. Respect yourself and other people.
We are a community and we care about each other. Let's all play our part and make this a great space to Revive Live.