How Covid cancelled 'Black Eye Friday': Normally bustling streets in Newcastle, Swansea and Birmingham lie empty a year after chaotic scenes on what is usually one of the busiest Christmas nights out
The year's Mad Eye Friday celebrations were an unusually subdued affair as Covid restrictions saw countless bars, pubs and clubs forced to close their doors on one of the busiest nights of the year.
The last Friday before Christmas is normally the biggest night of the year for office parties, bringing a rush of revellers to Britain's nightlife hotspots.
But with coronavirus restrictions forcing venues to close their doors, the normally-busting streets of Swansea, Newcastle and Birmingham were nearly deserted with locals forced to stay indoors.
Both Birmingham and Newcastle are under Tier 3, which bans people from meeting socially indoors. This includes venues such as pubs, bars and restaurants which have all been forced to shut - except for takeaways.
All of Wales is under Alert Level 3 of the Welsh four-level system, meaning means hospitality venues in Swansea close at 6pm and nightclubs are shut entirely.
While pictures taken last year show an array of fancy dress-clad partygoers celebrating the festive season, this year's streets were empty.
The year's Mad Friday celebrations were an unusually subdued affair as Covid restrictions saw countless bars, pubs and clubs forced to close their doors on one of the busiest nights of the year. Pictured: Revellers in Newcastle last year compared to the same deserted spot in 2020
The last Friday before Christmas is normally the biggest night for office parties, bringing a rush of revellers to Britain's nightlife hotspots including Birmingham . But in 2020 the same spot was deserted
With coronavirus restrictions forcing venues to close their doors, the normally-busting streets of Newcastle (left in 2019) were nearly deserted with locals forced to stay indoors
All of Wales is under Alert Level 3 of the Welsh four-level system, meaning means hospitality venues in Swansea close at 6pm and nightclubs are shut entirely leaving streets deserted in 2020 . But 2019 was a different story
Both Birmingham and Newcastle (2019 compared to 2020, pictured) are under Tier 3, which bans people from meeting socially indoors
Venues such as pubs, bars and restaurants have all been forced to shut - except for takeaways - in Newcastle leaving the streets empty . Left: The same street in 2019 was a different scene
While pictures taken last year show an array of partygoers celebrating the festive season in Newcastle , this year's streets were empty Right)
Mad Friday - also known as Black Eye Friday - was a different story for those celebrating their last night of freedom before being plunged into Tier 3 lockdown rules.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock plunged numerous counties into the 'very high alert' top tier of coronavirus restrictions on Thursday, with 70 per cent of England set to be under the toughest rules from today.
The latest Tier 3 additions include Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Peterborough, the whole of Hertfordshire, Surrey with the exception of Waverley, Hastings and Rother on the Kent border of East Sussex, Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant in Hampshire.
Those in Guildford made the most of their final moments in Tier 2 last night, with Britons seen heading to bars and restaurants on the last Friday before Christmas. The town will move from 'high alert' to 'very high alert' at midnight alongside the majority of Surrey.
In Liverpool, revellers queued in the rain to enter clubs last night after it was confirmed on Thursday the city would remain under Tier 2 restrictions for another fortnight. The Liverpool City Region has avoided a surge in coronavirus infections since national lockdown restrictions were eased on December 2.
Two women are seen taking a break outside a Newcastle club in 2019 . The same spot in 2020 was a different picture
A man appears to have fallen over while exiting a club in Newcastle in 2019 . Due to Covid rules, the same venue was shut in 2020
A woman tries to play along with musicians on the streets of Newcastle in 2019 . The same spot was empty in 2020
A woman clutches onto a man dressed as Santa as they walk the streets of Newcastle in 2019 . The same street was empty this year
A man fell asleep on a bench in Newcastle on Mad Friday last year . The same spot was deserted in 2020
And in York, which will also remain in Tier 2 ahead of another review of restrictions on December 30, partygoers donned festive attire as they dressed up for a night out on the last Friday before Christmas.
It comes as the Department of Health recorded 28,507 new cases of the virus in the last 24 hours, up a third from the 21,672 last Friday, and 489 deaths, a rise of 14 per cent from a week ago.
Meanwhile, SAGE now estimates the Covid R rate - the average number of others infected by each person with the disease - is between 1.1 and 1.2 in the UK. It is the first time the reproductive number has definitely been above the crucial mark since the first week of the national lockdown last month.
In England, the rate stands even higher at between 1.1 and 1.3, while experts warned it might be as high as 1.4 in the East, and 1.3 in both London and the South East. Last week, Britain's R number - which doesn't represent Friday's outbreak - was between 0.9 and 1.
A group of girls were seen walking along the road in Newcastle in 2019 . The same street had no revellers in 2020
A woman is seen being helped up by a friend in Swansea in 2019 . There were no revellers by the same door in 2020
Two women were seen walking arm in arm along a street in Swansea on Mad Eye Friday in 2019 . The same street was empty in 2020
Two people posed for a picture on the road in Swansea last year . With bars forced to close their doors at 6pm in Wales, things were more deserted this year
Three women walk along the street in Swansea on Mad Eye Friday in 2019 . The same street was deserted in 2020
London was plunged under Tier 3 rules on Wednesday, after Mr Hancock told a Downing Street briefing that action had to be taken to slow 'sharp, exponential rises' in infection rates.
The streets of the capital were largely abandoned on Friday night, with 'sorry we're closed' signs adorning the doors of typically bustling venues in Soho.
Reports last night suggested London and the South East could be 'cut off' from the rest of the UK with potential travel bans announced as soon as today - as a new 'highly contagious' coronavirus variant rips through the region.
Boris Johnson could announce a strengthening of Covid-19 advice after holding a meeting in which ministers are understood to have discussed how to contain the mutant strain, it was said.
This has so-far been confined to London and the South East, with scientists warning the new variant is 50 per cent more contagious than any strain detected before.
One source told the Daily Telegraph that Downing Street could restrict travel to and from the South East, with other proposed measures banning commuters from travelling into London.
It is understood the Prime Minister was last night provided with new evidence on the harmfulness of the mutant strain.
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