The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom has had far-reaching consequences in the country that go beyond the spread of the disease itself and efforts to quarantine it, including political, cultural, and social implications.

Arts and entertainment Music

On 13 March, BBC Radio 1 cancelled its Big Weekend music festival, scheduled to take place at the end of May. Other music events to be cancelled included the C2C: Country to Country festival, the Glastonbury Festival, the Isle of Wight and Download music festivals, the Cambridge Folk Festival, and the Love Supreme Jazz Festival. The organisers of the Download festival announced plans to hold a virtual festival instead, featuring streamed performances and interviews. Big Weekend organisers ran an alternative event, Big Weekend UK 2020, with musicians performing from their homes and on virtual stages, and performances from previous Big Weekend events.

Among the artists and bands to postpone or cancel UK gigs or tours were Avril Lavigne and the Who. Other, including Chris Martin of Coldplay, and Yungblud live-streamed performances on social media. Various musicians announced free gigs for NHS staff.

Even with the United Kingdom beginning to lift the majority of restrictions by late-June 2021, and the government organizing concerts as part of the Event Research Programme to examine the impact of large-scale events with fewer precautions, a large number of British music festivals nonetheless announced that they would also cancel their 2021 editions, including ArcTanGent, Bluedot, Boomtown, Ramblin' Man Fair, and Two Thousand Trees Festival, due to the British government not providing an insurance scheme for such events that would cover losses in the event that they are cancelled for COVID-19-related reasons. Some are also citing travel restrictions that make it difficult to host international performers and attendees. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS) stated on 13 May that it "cannot give full assurance" on such schemes until the guidance for the next stage of its regulations are created.

Visual arts A number of artists began painting portraits of NHS workers, as a way of organising their work and thanking them for it. An exhibition is planned, once the pandemic subsides.

Theatre and cinema On 15 March, London's Old Vic became the first West End theatre to cancel a performance when it ended its run of Samuel Beckett's Endgame two weeks early. On 16 March, other theatres in London, as well as elsewhere around the UK, closed following Boris Johnson's advice that people should avoid such venues. On 17 March, cinema chains Odeon, Cineworld, Vue and Picturehouse announced they would be closing all their UK outlets. On 1April, the 2020 Edinburgh festivals, planned for August, were cancelled.

On 26 March the National Theatre launched National Theatre at Home, a two-month programme whereby a different production from its archives would be streamed for free each week. The project began with Richard Bean's comedy One Man, Two Guvnors, featuring James Corden.

Television and radio Television programmes to be affected included forthcoming series of Peaky Blinders and Line of Duty, which had their filming schedules delayed. On 13 March, ITV announced that the 2020 series finale of Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, scheduled to be broadcast from Walt Disney World in Florida would no longer go ahead after the resort announced its intention to close as a precautionary measure. On 16 March, ITV announced that the filming schedule for its two soaps, Coronation Street and Emmerdale had not been affected by the pandemic, but filming ceased on 23 March. On 18 March ITV announced the semi-final of the ninth series of The Voice UK, scheduled for 28 March, would be postponed until later in the year.

On 16 March, the BBC delayed implementation of its planned changes to TV licences for those aged over 75 from June to August. On 25 March the BBC also announced that it would delay its plans to cut 450 news jobs due to the pressure of covering the pandemic.

On 17 March, the BBC announced major changes to the schedule across the network. While some programmes were suspended, others such as Newsnight and The Andrew Marr Show continued with a smaller number of production staff. Some podcasts were also suspended. On 18 March it was announced that filming of soap operas and regular dramas would be suspended. The BBC also said it would show more educational programmes to cater for children not attending school, and more programmes focused on health, fitness, education, religion and food recipes. On 23 March, ITV ceased the live broadcasting of two programmes.

On radio, some BBC World Service programmes were suspended. Summaries on Radio2, Radio3, Radio4 and 5Live were merged into a single output, with BBC6 using the same script. The BBC Asian Network and Newsbeat worked together to maintain production of stories. On 18 March, the BBC announced that its local radio stations in England would broadcast a virtual church service, led initially by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but with plans to expand religious services to cover other faiths. On the same day Radio News Hub, a radio news bulletin provider based in Leeds, announced that it would produce a daily ten-minute programme giving a round-up of information about the pandemic, and that would be made available free of charge to radio stations. On 28 March, BBC Local Radio announced that it had teamed up with manufacturers, retailers and the social isolation charity WaveLength to give away free DAB radios to people over 70.

Museums As of August 2021, the pandemic led to 4,700 redundancies across the museum sector.

Defence

The coronavirus pandemic affected British military deployments at home and abroad. Training exercises, including those in Canada and Kenya, had to be cancelled to free up personnel for the COVID Support Force. The British training mission in Iraq, part of Operation Shader, had to be down-scaled. An air base supporting this military operation also confirmed nine cases of coronavirus. The British Army paused face-to-face recruitment and basic training operations, instead conducting them virtually. Training locations, such as Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and HMS Raleigh, had to adapt their passing out parades. Cadets involved were made to stand apart in combat dress and there were no spectators in the grandstands. Ceremonial duties and displays were stopped. The British Army deployed two experts to NATO to help counter disinformation around the pandemic. The Government's defence and security review, named the Integrated Review, was delayed.

In March 2020, following requests for military aid to the civil authorities, the Ministry of Defence announced the formation of the COVID Support Force under the Standing Joint Commander (UK), Lieutenant General Tyrone Urch at Aldershot to support public services and civil authorities in tackling the pandemic. Unlike the police and some other civil agencies, members of the armed forces (during peacetime) have no powers over and above those of ordinary citizens. The support force initially consisted of 20,000 personnel but later grew to amount to 23,000. Two military operations; Operation Rescript, based in the UK, and Operation Broadshare, focused on overseas defence activities, were launched. Chief of the Defence Staff Nick Carter ordered the military to prepare for a "six month" operation and to be on an "operational footing" by mid-April. The COVID Support Force was initially tasked with driving oxygen tankers for the NHS, as well as delivering medical supplies, including PPE, to hospitals. Prior to the announcement of the COVID Support Force, the armed forces had assisted the British government in repatriating British citizens from affected areas, including China and Japan. The Royal Air Force also repatriated British and EU citizens from Cuba. The armed forces additionally assisted in the transportation of coronavirus patients around the UK, including Shetland and the Isles of Scilly. On 23 March 2020, Joint Helicopter Command began assisting the coronavirus relief effort by transporting people and supplies. Helicopters were based at RAF Leeming to cover Northern England and Scotland, whilst helicopters based at RAF Benson, RAF Odiham and RNAS Yeovilton supported the Midlands and Southern England.

The armed forces helped to build temporary hospitals, testing centres and mortuaries, and supported ambulance services across the country. The COVID Support Force had responded to 76 requests for assistance from government ministries with 2,680 personnel deployed from a total of 23,000 on standby. 2,300 vehicles were also in use as temporary ambulances and to transport personnel and supplies in 34 locations across the country. On 16 April 2020, it was reported that 9.1% of the defence workforce, representing 13,000 personnel, were off work due to coronavirus, whilst under 100 personnel had tested positive. Carter described the military's assistance to the NHS as the "single greatest logistic challenge" he had come across.

On 26 April 2020, forces were reported as testing critical workers and people at risk, in areas with "significant" demand. Following the Government's announcement of a target of 100,000 coronavirus tests to be carried out per day, the armed forces helped deploy and operate mobile testing units.

Education

Following cases in Italy, the Cransley School in Northwich, Cheshire, and Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough closed, as some of their pupils had returned with symptoms from Italy. Fourteen schools in England had closed by 28 February. Loughborough University reported a student confirmed to have the virus after recent travel to Italy, and indicated that several staff members and students began self-isolation.

Cambridge University closed all buildings from 20 March, which was criticised by the local UCU as students from countries with weaker healthcare provisions would be forced to return home. More than a thousand Cambridge students signed an open letter requesting alternatives to cancelled examinations in Cambridge, including the option to retake the year in 2020–21.

Coventry University first suspended all graduation ceremonies due to be held in March and April, and from 20 March, suspended all face-to-face teaching, in favour of on-line delivery. Many other higher education institutions took similar steps at around the same time.

All UK schools closed by 20 March 2020 for an indefinite period of time, except for children of key workers and vulnerable children. GCSE and A Level exams were cancelled, an unprecedented action in UK educational history, with results awarded using predicted grades and teacher assessment. On 16 April the Department for Education said these grades would be published on their original intended dates, 13 August for A Levels and 20 August for GCSEs. In Scotland it was announced that exams would not take place and coursework would not be marked for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses with teachers estimating grades.

On 7 May Welsh Government Minister Kirsty Williams MS, announced that schools in Wales would not reopen on 1 June.

Events On 23 March, Pride in London, the UK's largest LGBT Pride festival, scheduled for 27 June, was postponed. It was one of more than a hundred pride events to be postponed or cancelled in the UK. On 3April, Brighton Pride, scheduled for Saturday 1August, was cancelled.

On 6 April the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland of the Orange Order announced that the traditional Twelfth of July parades in Northern Ireland had been cancelled.

The national VE Day 75th anniversary events planned for 8to 10 May were cancelled.VE DAY 75 CANCELLATION ADVICE veday75.org. Retrieved 29 April 2020

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