There’s currently no timeline for San Francisco nightclubs and bars to reopen after coronavirus.
Check back here for the latest updates!
Are you a nightclub owner or bar that would like to be added to this list? Feel free to email us at info@discotech.me.
There is currently no timeline for Los Angeles nightclubs, bars, and pool parties to reopen after coronavirus.
Check back here for the latest updates!
Are you a nightclub owner or bar that would like to be added to this list? Feel free to email us at info@discotech.me.
There’s currently no timeline for Las Vegas nightclubs and pool parties to reopen after coronavirus.
Check back here for the latest updates!
– no venues open
Are you a nightclub owner or bar that would like to be added to this list? Feel free to email us at info@discotech.me.
After three months of darkness, Austin bars will be allowed to turn the lights on beginning this Friday.
Texas bars are allowed to reopen on Friday, May 22, as part of second phase of the state’s reopening program. Bars can only operate at 25 percent indoor capacity and full outdoor capacity while also adhering to novel coronavirus mitigation and social distancing requirements and recommendations. This includes sticking to table service (rather than have customers order at the bar), using disposable glassware, and discouraging dancing.
Are you a nightclub owner or bar that would like to be added to this list? Feel free to email us at info@discotech.me.
After three months of darkness, Dallas bars will be allowed to turn the lights on beginning this Friday.
Under Phase 2 of the state’s reopening plan, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that Texas bars could reopen for business May 22 at 25 percent of capacity. The guidelines also allow nightclubs, craft breweries and wine tasting rooms to reopen.
Are you a nightclub owner or bar that would like to be added to this list? Feel free to email us at info@discotech.me.
After three months of darkness, Houston bars will be allowed to turn the lights on beginning this Friday.
Under Phase 2 of the state’s reopening plan, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that Texas bars could reopen for business May 22 at 25 percent of capacity. The guidelines also allow nightclubs, craft breweries and wine tasting rooms to reopen.
Are you a nightclub owner or bar that would like to be added to this list? Feel free to email us at info@discotech.me.
Governments and health organizations, faced with pressure to reopen the worldwide economy, are beginning to lay out guidelines for the return of venues, nightclubs and music festivals after shutting everything down due to coronavirus.
With over four million cases worldwide, the reopening of the nightlife economy will be gradual. While scenes in China have seen nightlife cautiously return, South Korea’s initial club reopenings are linked to a recent spike of COVID-19 infections in the country, resulting in another nightlife shutdown. Given that, it feels unlikely live music, festivals and club nights will completely return in absence of a vaccine. Still, various governments, like Spain and Ireland, have outlined multi-stage plans to reopen clubs, music festivals and venues along with the rest of economy.
Worried about COVID-19 but itching to party? Check out our guide to safe partying when clubs reopen!
Here’s the latest on nightlife reopening plans around the world:
The US began an uneven reopening effort, with certain localities, such as Austin, Texas, and Springfield, Kentucky, pushing to open bars and nightclubs imminently. With the world’s largest concentration of infections and deaths, reopening efforts in cities like New York and Los Angeles will be carried out in phases, with nightclubs and bars likely being among the last businesses to open.
Italy, which had one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe, has begun lifting its lockdown in stages. As of Monday, May 18th, bars and restaurants are allowed to reopen with restrictions around table spacing and masks required for patrons when not sat at tables, according to The Local IT.
By June 15th, live music events of up to 200 people indoors and 1,000 people outdoors can return, so long as there is assigned seating, with mask-wearing attendees sat one meter apart, DJ Mag Italia reports. Nightclubs were not acknowledged in the Council Of Ministers’ new decree, although Sicilian officials said clubs on the island can reopen on June 8th, pending government approval.
Germany has allowed for all shops to reopen with social-distancing measures, which has been good news for the country’s record stores.
Some Berlin clubs, including Sisyphos, have reopened as of Friday, May 15th, as afternoon beer gardens operating with a food license. There are strict no-dancing rules, with most of the bars to close around 10 PM. The state of Bavaria also reopened restaurants on May 18th, according to the BBC.
Germany currently holds a nationwide ban on clubs, theaters and cultural sites until July 31st. Events with 5,000 people or more are banned until October 24th.
The UK Home Office shared the 60-page document Our Plan To Rebuild on May 11th. It includes a three-step plan for phasing out the UK lockdown, with the first in action from the 11th, the second tentatively starting no earlier than June 1st, and the third potentially beginning on July 4th. Pubs and restaurants, under the category of “food-service providers,” are planned to partially reopen in that third stage. However, it also states, “Some venues which are, by design, crowded and where it may prove difficult to enact distancing may still not be able to reopen safely at this point, or may be able to open safely only in part.”
Nightclubs are only mentioned once: “While reopening outdoor spaces and activities (subject to continued social distancing) comes earlier in the roadmap because the risk of transmission outdoors is significantly lower, it is likely that reopening indoor public spaces and leisure facilities (such as gyms and cinemas), premises whose core purpose is social interaction (such as nightclubs), venues that attract large crowds (like sports stadia), and personal care establishments where close contact is inherent (like beauty salons) may only be fully possible significantly later depending on the reduction in numbers of infections.”
Spain’s lockdown-easing plan allows some “cultural events” to take place starting this month. On May 11th, outdoor terraces of restaurants and bars will be allowed to open at 50 percent capacity and no more than 30 people will be permitted to attend indoor events, 200 for socially distanced, seated open-air events. For the final phase, planned for June 10th, the capacity for indoor events rises to 80 people, while outdoor functions can host up to 800 people in seats.
After South Korea recently relaxed social-distancing measures, including allowing clubs to reopen the weekend of April 24th, there’s been a spike in COVID-19 infections, forcing another closure of clubs.
With under 10,000 reported cases, Australia is considering reopening its economy. Restrictions around gatherings have been lifted in some states, and Falls Festival has announced its New Year’s Eve edition will happen with an all-Australian lineup, Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports. Still, the country’s Chief Medical Officer stated social-distancing guidelines will likely remain in place until a vaccine, and Big Day Out cofounder Ken West said any 2020 events would face a battle to get clearance.
Borders in Denmark remain closed to foreigners, but museums theaters and zoos will begin opening June 8th. Bars, nightclubs and small concert venues will need to wait until sometime in “early” August for reopening, The Local DK reports.
The Netherlands Minister Of Public Health sent a letter to the House Of Representatives saying “mass events at national level” may only be allowed with the existence of a vaccine, AT5reports. Concert halls and theaters, however, will be allowed to take groups of 30, with previous reservations and social distancing, starting June 1st. Groups of 100 will be allowed to gather starting July 1st.
The Portuguese government has banned music festivals until September 30th, and it’s also getting involved in refunds for ticket holders, according to ECO. “If shows, scheduled between February 28th and September 30th, are not performed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the government announced, “the consumers will be provided with ‘a voucher of equal value to the ticket price paid.'”
The Irish government’s 23-page document Roadmap For Reopening Society & Business outlines five phases with tentative timeframes, with the final stage (estimated date August 10th) allowing for “festivals, events and other social mass gatherings… where social distancing can be complied with.”
Businesses have reopened their doors, but a return to normalcy remains far off. For nightclubs that have been closed since late January, reopening to the public has brought with it cautious optimism.
At OIL Club in Shenzhen, a city that borders Hong Kong, crowd turnout is on the low side because some people are still afraid to go out, cofounders Yangyang Song and Huiyuan Sun told RA. “Many people aren’t willing to stay late for parties now, so events also end earlier than before,” they said.
OIL opened to the public on March 27th, the same day as several other venues including TAG in Chengdu and Loopy in Hangzhou..
At TAG, “around 10 to 15 percent of our customers are still hesitant to come out,” according to club booker Aymen Hajlaoui. “I can’t say for sure that we can recoup our losses, but if it continues like this, the outlook doesn’t look bad.”
“I didn’t think we could reopen until the end of April, so to do it by the end of March, the time of our six-year anniversary, was really special,” Hajlaoui said. Before the epidemic, TAG’s birthday was initially planned as a three-day event, but with restrictions loosened in the week leading up to it, the club celebrated by collaborating with Chengdu Community Radio for a small party. The radio platform was launched last year by Hajlaoui and Kristen Ng.
Other clubs in Chengdu, such as Cue and AXIS, are also back at it, but many venues have been asked to remain closed by authorities due to their location or capacity, according to Ng. “Live venues haven’t been given the green light yet, which means band gigs are still on hold,” she said.
Venues in Shanghai were among the nation’s first to open, with hotspots 44KW and Elevator welcoming ravers on March 12th and 20th, respectively. The city was one of the lesser-affected regions by the pandemic, though residents remain careful. Daily Vinyl, an appointment-only record store-cum-guesthouse, isn’t seeing as many walk-ins as before, but cofounder Endy Chen believes that will change as people take time to adjust. Chen, who also runs the labels Eating Music and Groove Bunny Records, is set to play at Elevator’s fourth anniversary on May 1st and anticipates a solid turnout.
Clubs are taking every safety precaution possible, including regular cleaning and disinfecting dance floors. Before entering spaces, people undergo mandatory temperature checks and scan a QR code on their phones that indicates their health status. Once inside, many keep their masks on.
“Wrote it down and read it out, hoping it would save me… Now I’m standing back from it, I finally see the pattern. I got new rules, I count ’em.” “New Rules” – Dua Lipa (2017)
We’re quite a ways into this unprecedented global pandemic, and the positive news is that many of the world’s big cities have now made significant strides in controlling the spread of COVID-19 and turning the tide in humanity’s battle against the deadly virus. As we steamroll towards another summer – the unofficial start of which is always Memorial Day Weekend here in the U.S. – cities are gradually beginning to relax their lockdown requirements and reopen businesses. The temporary ban of large gatherings – including dayclubs and nightclubs in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York Miami, and lesser nightlife hubs – in the early stages of the outbreak was of the necessary measures to ensure public safety and improve our timetable to return to normalcy. The curve has since been flattened, and now the public is cautiously seeking to reduce social distancing and quarantine mandates and resume reasonable in-person gatherings and interactions.
And we totally get it: you’re probably suffering from a strong case of “lockdown fatigue” at this advanced point in this global quarantine, and by now you are just itching to go out. In general, as of the publishing of this article -mid-May – it’s STILL not quite safe to go out and gather in large spaces – let alone party with strangers – at the moment… but rest assured, it will be safe enough very soon. Every city in the world has a different timetable to reopen; some places around the world – e.g. China, Japan, and South Korea – have already reopened, by virtue of having been locked down months sooner than the U.S. and acting more quickly and comprehensively to check and control the spread of the coronavirus.
Don’t you worry though: after weeks of exercising utmost caution and patience, the good ol’ U.S. of A is now on the verge of reopening its economy on a much wider scale. The exact timeline of openings will vary by state and county, but in general we will see the following phased approach to opening certain business types across communities in the U.S:
Sure, you’ve partied out with your friends many times in the past, and the basic ins and outs of clubbing had already become second nature to you many moons ago. But life as we know it has drastically changed in the wake of this global pandemic, and nothing will ever be the same. So then, a new set of party rules MUST be added to our first set – at least in the meantime until we find a vaccine, a cure, or other means to eradicate the spread of COVID-19.
Because we care deeply for our industry and its customers and want to see both back and thriving as soon as possible, Discotech has put together a list of ten critical rules for safe partying once local governments reopen nightclubs, bars, lounges, concert halls, and other music-focused entertainment venues. Have the lockdown gates just been lifted in your city? Ready, set, go!
This is the MOST IMPORTANT, simplest and, easiest-to-follow rule on our list. And not just if you might have COVID-19, but if you have ANY of the above illnesses or symptoms shown in the above chart. To do so is incredibly selfish and goes against everything that that the clubbing and party community has stood for since the dawn of man. Don’t put other people’s well-being at risk just so you can have a carefree, shallow, good time.
If you’re symptom-free and feeling 100% healthy and have already decided to take the personal risk of engaging in close quarters with equally healthy fun-loving strangers, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE purchase and wear a high-grade mask (KN95, N95, FFP2, or similar). Los Angeles, CA-based The Fabric Outlet, the trusted supplier from whom Discotech purchases its masks supply to ensure a safe office environment, is one of numerous certified and highly-rated online vendors of heavy-duty face coverings at reasonable bulk-discount prices.
Can’t get your hands on a high-quality mask in time for the party? No worries, you still can do your part to reduce exposure and risk by donning a disposable face mask, available for purchase online or at your local drugstore. Or if you’re feeling friskier, then perhaps you might want to go with a more stylish, colorful homemade face covering fashioned from a bandana you’ve recycled from a past music festival:
More expensive high-grade reusable masks remain much more effective and thus strongly recommended when gathering in crowds. However, disposable and cloth masks “do significantly reduce the exhaled aerosols from infectious, but asymptomatic, individuals” says Raed Dweik, MD, Chairman of Cleveland Clinic’s Respiratory Institute. As nightclubs reopen, face coverings of any and all kinds play a pivotal role in helping block the spread of the virus, especially from asymptomatic carriers. The more people in a given space wearing masks, the less viral particles are making it into the space around them, greatly decreasing interpersonal transmission.
Clubs that reopen will be taking every reasonable health safety precaution possible, including masks and gloves for service staff and frequent cleaning and disinfecting of furniture, surfaces, handrails, dance floors, and restrooms. And at some venues, management will decide to go a couple steps further, requiring entering guests to undergo mandatory temperature checks, and/or scan a QR code on their phones that indicates their health status and facilitates contact tracing should a visitor be diagnosed with coronavirus in the future. These new process steps will likely make the waits to get into nightclubs longer than they were before, so a friendly reminder to get to your favorite spot at least 15-30 minutes earlier than you did pre-pandemic and STAY CALM, PATIENT, AND POSITIVE while in line waiting for the fun to happen.
In these pandemic times, hand sanitizers have morphed from a merely “convenient” into an ESSENTIAL way of promoting public health and preserving one’s own personal health. Often used on the go, hand sanitizers contain ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, or both to kill bacteria and viruses that settle your hands. Alcohols have long been known to kill germs by denaturing the protective outer proteins of microbes and dissolving their membranes. Of course, we would more strongly recommend cleaning your hands with soap and water – a 20-second wash is actually much more effective than using any hand sanitizer. That being said, we’ve seen the inside of MANY a nightclub bathroom and we wouldn’t wish multiple visits to them over the course of one night on our worst enemy – those things were bad enough even before coronavirus.
The coronavirus strain SARS-CoV-2 that causes the COVID-19 disease can be transmitted through contaminated surfaces, but it also easily spreads through coughing and sneezing and can even remain active in airborne droplets for up to 3 hours. The 6 feet of distance recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is designed to put up a roadblock to the aerosolized droplet methods of transmission. Why 6 feet? Temple University epidemiologist Krys Johnson explains: “Six feet is the average distance that respiratory droplets from a sneeze or cough travel before they settle and are no longer likely to be inhaled by other people. I have seen estimates for social distancing of up to 10 feet if someone sneezes quite hard, [or] does not cover their sneeze [or] cough. This allows those particles a little more distance to settle so that you are not breathing them in. As long as someone’s not outwardly ill, though, you should be safe maintaining a 6-foot distance.”
Yes it can get hot, sweaty, and uncomfortable in the club, but we can’t reiterate enough that wearing masks – and keeping them on as much as possible – protects EVERY member of the party community from viral exposure. While you’re inside the club, here are the ONLY acceptable reasons to remove your mask:
That’s really it. Especially considering that every. single. time. that you reach for your mask to pull it off or adjust it, you’re putting yourself at needless additional risk by touching your face. Just….. no. Don’t do it if you don’t need to, ¿por favor amigo?
You’re already risking life and limb to save your sanity and get out and party, so there’s no need to take on additional danger. Simply put: yelling or singing has been shown to accelerate transmission of the droplets. So, dance your butt off like there’s no tomorrow, and pump your fists like a second relapse lockdown is coming next weekend. (Editor’s Note: it probably is, LOL.) But hey, NO SINGING ALONG – IDGAF if it’s your song, dude!!!! – and no yelling above the music to tell your homies something trivial. Just enjoy your night responsibly and be a team player.
It’s pretty clear that the safest spot to be inside any nightclub during these trying times is not on the dance floor, at the bar, or chillin’ in any of the GA areas, but rather in the one part of the club that doubles as the most spacious, most comfortable, and most effective “social distancing” method to from which to enjoy the revelry. If you just paid top dollar to cop a professional-grade mask and a pre-party coronavirus test, then why not go the extra mile in the name of safety to book a VIP table, enjoy the party to the fullest, and give peace of mind to your crew? After all that you’ve gone through over the past few months, you’re most certainly worth it. Hey, we’re not saying it’s a matter of life and death, but… (Too soon???)
You’ve read this far, so we MUST assume that you’ve checked off all the above boxes and are still seriously considering going out. Again, no judgment… and you, ma’am (or sir) truly are a die-hard clubhead. But before you go forth into the wild night, this simple-to-understand article detailing the science of viral spread and mitigation is a MUST-READ. TL;DR:
If after skimming that post, you ab-so-tive-ly pos-o-lute-ly still need to scratch that clubbing itch, then hey we’ve done everything in our power to coach you up to this point. But here’s one last super-important tip from that post: outdoor club venues will keep you safer from viral exposure than indoor club venues, by a long shot. The multidirectional (fancy word for “random”) flows of air disperse potential airborne particles more effectively, better keeping viral loads concentrations below infection-causing levels. Slightly more risky are indoor venues with partial open-air exposure, and after that well-ventilated indoor venues with large open spaces (e.g. warehouses). And you guessed it: small, poorly ventilated venues with packed crowds and few aisles and walkways yield the highest exposure risk. So in this post-pandemic world, now you should add venue architecture to things like location, music, and crowd as important criteria in choosing your clubbing experience.
Everything we’ve just covered above figures to be common sense, but the world has been so turned upside-down by coronavirus that we all could use a friendly and well-meaning nudge back in the right direction. Plus, it’s been SO LONG for all of us since our last proper party that we’re chomping at the bit to get back… yet we need to do so in a cautious, prudent manner that allows the party to burn brighter and rage longer into the summer. We got “New Rules” – and following them will ensure your own safety and the safety of your nearby (but not too near!) fellow clubheads as you return to bobbing heads and pumping fists in unison for the remainder of 2020 and beyond.
Planning a post-quarantine “return to normalcy” night out with friends soon? Discotech is your ultimate solution for lining up your big plans. We’ve already built our reputation helping THOUSANDS of satisfied clients around the world with their standard small group party needs.
Failure to plan ahead – even if it’s just days or hours ahead – is one of the biggest mistakes that we see countless groups make on a weekly basis, and it inevitably results in financial and logistical headaches – and embarrassing moments at the velvet ropes of entry – that could easily have been avoided. Not only can we help you lock down all your plans in advance and custom tailor a party plan for your group size and budget, but we will also provide a real-time assistance via our help line and hosts on the ground to make sure your experience goes smoothly – everyone gets in quickly, all your bottles arrive, you aren’t over charged, etc. When it comes to partying peace of mind, Discotech is your one-stop shop!