It appears that the combination of rising infection rates but continuing low levels of hospitalisation is attributable to the fact that a high proportion of people with the virus at the moment are young adults who rarely suffer from serious symptoms. The concern for the government is of course that these young adults will transmit the virus to older, more vulnerable individuals.

It may be that this is the rationale for the Government’s decision to introduce a new criminal offence for people organising or facilitating unlawful gatherings which comes into force on Friday 28 August 2020 — deliberately timed to be in place before the last Bank Holiday of the summer.

Those facilitating or organising illegal raves, unlicensed music events, or any other unlawful gathering of 30 people or more may face a £10,000 fine – placing a new deterrent on the breaches that put the public most at risk.

Fines of £100 can continue to be issued to those who participate in illegal gatherings and those who have already received a fine will see the amount of doubled on each offence, up to a maximum of £3,200.

It comes as the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) warned police forces in England and Wales will continue to increase patrols to prevent illegal gatherings during the pandemic heading into the bank holiday weekend.

In areas of concern – such as Leicester and Greater Manchester – deployments have already been larger than on New Year’s Eve.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Unlicensed Music Events, Commander Ade Adelekan, responded to the new legislation:

We welcome this further deterrent against those who irresponsibly put people’s health and safety at risk by organising these events. Unlicensed music events are unlawful and unregulated. These events are hosted without regard for the safety of those attending, and police have observed cases of anti-social behaviour, sales of drugs and gang activity.

It is vital that forces obtain information about any illegal events at the earliest opportunity. As organisers are able to spread the word about these events quickly online, timely information about suspicious activity or plans enables forces to plan ahead and take effective action against them.

To the organisers of this sort of activity, I strongly advise that you seriously consider the risks you’re creating for everyone in attendance and the wider community. There is a risk of prosecution for those who organise these events and equipment will be seized.

The Home Office says that the Metropolitan Police has responded to more than 1,000 unlicensed events since the end of June, receiving information on more than 200 events across the city in a single weekend. Similarly, the BBC reported today (23 August 2020) that last night officers in Birmingham disrupted more than 70 unlicensed social gatherings including house and street parties, one of which featured marquees and a DJ. Similar stories feature in local media all around the country including in places like Blackburn, currently under additional lockdown restrictions.

Aside from the risk of spreading the virus, the Home Office also drew attention to the fact that many illegal events may be linked to criminality and some are marred by violence. This week two teenagers were stabbed at a warehouse rave in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

As always, there are additional risks of all sorts at unlicensed events with organisers and customers alike often more reticent to call for emergency medical help for any drug- or health-related issue.

Update 7 September 2020

The Guardian has revealed that Leeds City Council issued seven of the £10,000 fines to organisers of illegal raves on the first weekend (August Bank Holiday) that it was possible to do so with Council Leader Judith Blake urging young people to take their share of responsibility in not transmitting coronavirus.

From illegal block parties and outdoor raves in London, Manchester and many other cities to big events in Lisbon, Berlin and Nantes and other places in Europe, a small but significant number of party goers have not been able to resist partying at a time of year when they would normally be going to a whole range of events and festivals.

While some of these events have been large scale happenings which clearly got out of control and resulted in confrontations with police trying to restore order and re-impose the requirements of lockdown , there have been many other house parties and smaller events in warehouses and other venues which have not been featured in the media. While escapism from lockdown and the pandemic is obviously part of the reason for people attending these happenings, other event goers have talked about how the rave community is their main support network and they have struggled with lockdown without being able to be together with like-minded individuals. What all these events have in common is an acknowledgement by participants that once people have taken drink or drugs and become fully involved in music and dancing again, social distancing guidelines are soon ignored.

With many lockdown restrictions being lifted but the official nighttime economy still shut, it seems inevitable that these sorts of illegal raves and other events will become increasingly common over the summer.

Of course it is unlikely that all the safer nightlife policies and practices highlighted on the pages of this site will be adopted by such illegal events. We have seem great improvements in drug and alcohol harm reduction practices in the night-time economy with pubs, clubs and festivals taking greater responsibility for their customers’ wellbeing. Onsite drug testing, festival welfare, well-trained medical staff and prompt information about high-strength or snide tablets have all contributed to making the UK’s growing festival scene safer. The best examples of this sort of best practice have normally stemmed from genuine partnerships between promoters, police and welfare services.

This sort of harm reduction approach is unlikely to translate well to illegal events which are often organised online with the final location only announced at the last minute, making proper organisation almost impossible. It appears that drug supply routes have adapted to the global pandemic and people going to these events are unlikely to find it difficult to buy their usual substances of choice.

It will be important for anyone choosing to attend these events to take responsibility for the welfare of both themselves and others in terms both of their vulnerability to contracting coronavirus and all the usual risks associated with drink, drugs and a night out. It is highly unlikely that those organising these events will be proactively looking out for the welfare of participants or calling ambulance services in medical emergencies.

We have already seen fatalities. In Oldham, Greater Manchester, 4,000 people attended a so-called quarantine rave in Daisy Nook Country Park where a 20-year-old man died of a suspected drug overdose. Across town in Carrington, a further 2,000 revellers gathered on waste ground where a woman was raped and three people were reportedly stabbed.

The sooner we find a safe way of opening the night-time economy, the better it will be for both the industry and its customers.