Latitude Festival: Hotel guests in 'room only' rule

A hotel has set ground rules for guests going to the Latitude Festival in Suffolk to "protect its business".

The four-day music and arts festival at Henham Park, which began on Thursday, is the the first major event following the lifting of most Covid restrictions.

The Angel in Halesworth said it would not clean bedrooms, and breakfast had to be eaten in bedrooms or outside.

Owner Simon Tennant said: "The gathering of so many - 40,000 people - presents itself as a higher risk."

Latitude has said ticket holders would be asked for either proof of a negative lateral flow test taken prior to travel on the day of arrival at the festival, or proof of full vaccination, the second dose having been received at least 14 days before the first day of attending the event.

"[In north Suffolk] We've been able to steer clear of the main infection rates, so we feel more sensitive to the risks - we've kept relatively clear of it, and we try very hard to maintain that level," added Mr Tennant.

"They are having to be tested, but a lot of that proof is taken on trust, and I know the [local area] consider it a risk, and we need to protect our business," added Mr Tennant.

Speaking of the restrictions for guests, he said all seven bedrooms had been booked by festival ticketholders or production crew.

"We've just applied a couple of extra regulations - we won't be servicing bedrooms whilst they are here, and we are asking them to have their breakfast outside, or as room service to protect our environment," he added.

As a further precaution, the hotel's pub and restaurant, which is six miles from Henham Park, will close the day after the festival ends.

He said he had not considered cancelling the bookings, and was not against Latitude Festival going ahead.

"I think Latitude is always a great thing for our area, it's a great window for north Suffolk, and I know it'll give a lot of people a lot of pleasure.

"I'll always support it."

The government will use the data from Latitude Festival to help run future events more safely.

It aims to measure the risk of Covid-19 infection associated with attendance at a mass gathering by looking at those who subsequently request a PCR test from NHS Test and Trace, and then those who test positive.

Research from the first set of pilot events found no major outbreaks.

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