Date, acts and location for Irish nightclub pilot event finally announced

Tickets go on sale this Friday.

The first pilot nightclub event since the pandemic began is set to be hosted on Thursday, 30 September at the Button Factory in Dublin, it has been announced. The fully standing show will allow dancing and will see 450 people attending, which is 60% of the venue's maximum capacity. Tickets for the gig hosted by Hidden Agenda and District 8 in consultation with Give us the Night, will go on sale this Friday, 17 September. Popular Irish acts such as Sunil Sharpe, Cailin R.Kitt, DART, Kelly Anne Byrne, Sim Simma, Breen and Cait Sam Greenwood are set to lead the line-up with two rooms of music spanning from 8.20pm until half-past midnight. The Government are hoping that the event will "help develop a safe template and pilot the logistics of event ticketing, venue admittance, the impact of antigen testing, ventilation and monitoring to ensure a safe and financially sustainable return to indoor events." Attendees must, according to current guidelines, produce a Digital Covid Certificate upon attendance and antigen testing will also be required and will be carried out close to the venue. "The electronic music and nightclub sector is an integral part of the Night-Time Economy and our culture and it is important that it is supported and recognised," Minister for Culture Catherine Martin said on Wednesday. "I understand the frustration, as it has been one of the hardest hit during this pandemic, but I hope this Report will be a welcome step forward as we reopen in line with public health guidance." It comes as all high-risk events including night clubs are set to reopen from 22 October with CMO Dr Tony Holohan confirming on Wednesday that Ireland is still on track for the full reopening. "We think we're not far away from a point whereby all of the criteria we set out in our advice to government, which is accepted as a basis for moving towards our next phase in terms of management of the pandemic," he said at a Department of Health press conference. He added that the vaccination target of 90% is very close to being achieved and "a lot of encouraging trends" are currently happening in terms of the incidence rate of the virus in many age cohorts.