Nightclubs elated, but doubts cloud England's ‘Freedom Day’

LONDON (AP) — Sparkling wine, confetti, a midnight countdown: It’s not New Year’s Eve, but it might as well be for England’s clubbers. After 17 months of empty dance floors, the country’s nightclubs are reopening with a bang.

From London to Liverpool, thousands of young people plan to dance the night away at “Freedom Day” parties the moment it becomes Monday, which is when almost all coronavirus restrictions in England are due to be scrapped. Face masks will no longer be legally required, and with social distancing rules shelved, there will be no more limits on people attending theater performances or big events.

Nightclubs, which have been shuttered since March 2020, can finally reopen with no occupancy restrictions or mask and testing requirements. Many of the reopening parties planned for the occasion sold out days ahead.

It’s “the moment we’ve been waiting for, that our customers have been waiting for,” said Tristan Moffat, operations director of London music venue The Piano Works.

The business is keen to open its doors again after losing about 40,000 pounds ($55,000) a month during the pandemic, he said. Its “Freedom Day” bash starts Sunday with a countdown to midnight, when staff members plan to cut a ribbon to the dance floor and serve customers free prosecco.

But while entertainment businesses and ravers are jubilant, many others are deeply worried about the British government’s decision to go ahead with fully reopening the economy and no longer mandating masks at a time when COVID-19 cases are on a rapid upswing. More than 54,000 new cases were confirmed on Saturday, the highest daily number since January, although reported virus deaths have stayed comparatively low so far.

Officials have repeatedly expressed confidence that the U.K.'s country’s vaccine...