Festival visit sparks call for Irish capacity events

Irish deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar has been criticised for attending a music festival in London whilst his government maintains restrictions on live events.

Ireland’s largest music festival Electric Picnic – cancelled this year due to capacity restrictions – was scheduled for the same weekend Varadkar was spotted at Mighty Hoopla.

The Event Industry Alliance (EIA) said it was “glad” to see Varadkar trust the UK’s safety measures and demanded a full reopening of Irish venues.

“It has been repeatedly stated and acknowledged by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister Micheál Martin) and the Tánaiste (Varadkar) that the commercial event sector requires 100% capacity to be viable,” the EIA added.

Ireland authorised indoor events to resume at 60% capacity and outdoor events at 75% on Monday (September 6). A return to full capacity events has been earmarked for October 22.