Demonstrators gather at Piccadilly Circus during a Save Our Scene protest, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in London, Britain June 27, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
LONDON - Hundreds of people danced and blew whistles in time to dance music on the streets of central London on Sunday, part of a protest against coronavirus restrictions that have pummelled the entertainment industry.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to remove the remaining restrictions on July 19 after being forced to postpone a reopening this month. But Save Our Scene, a campaign group for the music and hospitality sectors that organised the protest, says lockdown curbs should end immediately.
To thumping beats played by DJs on mobile sound systems, people marched and danced through central London to parliament, paying little heed to the social-distancing guidelines aimed at curbing an increase in infections, driven by the more contagious Delta variant of the virus.
"It's all about celebrating the music," one DJ shouted to the crowd, praising the policing of the protest.
The entertainment industry has been badly hit by restrictions which limit numbers at indoor events.
The government says it is trying to get the night-time economy back to work and has staged trials to see how more venues can be reopened safely by using testing and other measures.
