Experts press ministers to publish mass event pilot findings for England

Scientists advising the government on research into pilot mass events such as concerts and sports matches are frustrated at the delay in making the findings public and have been pressing for them to be released, the Guardian has learned.

Some of the events, which have included the Download music festival, the snooker world championships and a club night in Liverpool, took place as long ago as April and government sources say the results have been encouraging.

Expert advisers from the project’s scientific board contacted by the Guardian expressed frustration at the fact the research findings had not yet been released and said they were keen for them to be published imminently.

The organisers of summer events and the owners of music and sports venues are eagerly awaiting the findings, but Downing Street is still unable to say when they will be published. Boris Johnson’s spokesperson said only that they would come “shortly”.

The shadow culture secretary, Jo Stevens, said event organisers had told her the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) had produced a report with positive findings, but it had been held up by No 10, which was reluctant to cut across the cautious messaging it has stuck to since delaying the 21 June reopening.

Stevens said: “This government has ignored and insulted the industry who spent money, time and resources helping them to run the events research programme. The sector urgently needs to know what the evidence shows, what they can do safely and how they will be permitted to do it to avoid further cancellations.”

The government is facing legal action from music industry figures including the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and the impresario Cameron Mackintosh, who are trying to force disclosure of the research.

“We simply must now see the data that is being used to strangle our industry so unfairly,” Lloyd Webber said in a statement. “The government’s actions are forcing theatre and music companies off a cliff as the summer wears on, whilst cherrypicking high-profile sporting events to go ahead. The situation is beyond urgent.”

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The chief executive of the trade body UK Music, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, said: “It’s absolutely critical we can see the results of the research programme, so we can understand the conditions there are going to be for us as a sector. Without that we won’t be having a summer of music festivals.”

Johnson’s official spokesperson said: “These pilots provide real-life data so we can fully understand any benefits, problems or challenges with mass events.”

Asked why the findings had not been published, he said: “We’re assessing the evidence as we speak.” They were likely to appear shortly, he added.

The DCMS is overseeing the testing programme, and a board of scientific experts have been analysing the data.

The findings are expected to include advice for the organisers of future events on issues such as distancing and ventilation. Participants were tested in the run-up to the events and again afterwards.

The events research programme report is one of four studies announced when the reopening roadmap for England was first published in February. All are expected to be published as the final lifting of restrictions approaches.

The other studies cover the use of Covid certificates to facilitate reopening, the future of social distancing advice such as the “1 metre plus” rule, and options for international travel.

Downing Street has signalled that it expects most formal regulations to be lifted on 19 July, what the prime minister has called the “terminus” date on which the final stage of the roadmap is due to come into force.

Working from home guidance is expected to be scrapped, for example, with the emphasis placed instead on personal responsibility. Masks may be recommended in specific circumstances but are unlikely to be legally required.