Cheltenham is back! Crowds return to race festival for first time since start of Covid pandemic
Cheltenham is back! Crowds return to race festival for first time since start of pandemic when it was accused of being a Covid ‘super-spreader’ as Britain basks in 60F blast today
Up to 250,000 horse racing fans set to descend on Gloucestershire this week for the famous four-day eventIt was last held in front of fans in March 2020 – prior to lockdown – and was accused of being ‘super-spreader’At the time Italy was already in lockdown, while mass gatherings were banned in England three days laterThis event is to be blessed with good weather, with sun for three of four days, but with rain on Wednesday
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Crowds have eagerly returned to Cheltenham for the first time in two years, with hundreds of thousands of roaring fans set to bring the festival back to its pre-Covid best.
As many as 250,000 horse racing enthusiasts are set to descend on the Gloucestershire course across this weekend for the first time since the start of the Covid pandemic.
The famous festival was one of the last major sporting events to be held with spectators before the Covid lockdown in March 2020.
And it was accused of being a super-spreader for Covid, with a number of famous faces including Camilla’s ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, comedian Lee Mack and footballer Charlie Austin among those to catch the virus at the festival two years ago.
With the country under tight Covid restrictions, last year’s event was held behind closed doors. And so there has been much anticipation for this year’s four-day festival – the first to be held in front of fans in two years.
To add to the excitement, fans are set to bask in above-March-average temperatures 60F (15C) today.
And while rain is expected to fall on Wednesday, fans are set to enjoy a sunny final two days of the festival, including on Friday for its famous Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Eager crowds have returned to Cheltenham for the first time in two years, with hundreds of thousands roaring fans set to bring the festival back to its pre-Covid best (pictured left: 2020). The famous festival was one of the last was one of the last major sporting events to be held with spectators before the Covid lockdown in March 2020 (pictured right)
As many as 250,000 horse racing fans are set to descend on the Gloucestershire course across this weekend for the first time since the start of the Covid pandemic
Spectators arrive for day one of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. The four day event is taking place in Gloucestershire this week
Racegoers await entry ahead of day one of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. As many as 250,000 people are expected to attend across the four days
To add to the excitement, fans are set to bask in above-March-average temperatures 60F (15C) today. And while rain is expected to fall on Wednesday, fans are set to enjoy a sunny final two days of the festival, including on Friday for its famous Cheltenham Gold Cup
Racegoers in purple hats arrive ahead of day one of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse
Held at Cheltenham Racecourse in Gloucestershire, the event regularly welcomes more than 250,000 people each year. It features a series of ‘Championship’ races, which decide who are the best horses of the year
The festival was first run in 1860 and has grown to become the biggest four days of the jumps season.
Held at Cheltenham Racecourse in Gloucestershire, the event regularly welcomes more than 250,000 people each year.
It features a series of ‘Championship’ races, which decide who are the best horses of the year.
The main races are the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday, the Champion Chase on Wednesday, Thursday’s Stayers’ Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday.
Despite rising Covid cases in March 2020, and calls to cancel the festival, the event was given to the green-light to go-ahead.
It was the last major-sporting event to be allowed to take place prior to the Covid lockdown, which was brought in 10 days later. At the time Italy was already in lockdown, while mass gatherings were banned in England three days later.
More than 60,000 fans a day were packed into the stands, bars, toilets and queues for the food vans with little protection apart from some hand sanitiser stations dotted around the racetrack.
The Jockey Club, organisers of the event, said the festival ‘went ahead under Government guidance’.
The main races are the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday, the Champion Chase on Wednesday, Thursday’s Stayers’ Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday
As many as 250,000 horse racing fans are set to descend on the Gloucestershire course across this weekend for the first time since the start of the Covid pandemic
To add to the excitement, fans are set to bask in above-March-average temperatures 60F (15C) today. And while rain is expected to fall on Wednesday, fans are set to enjoy a sunny final two days of the festival, including on Friday for its famous Cheltenham Gold Cup
The March 2020 event was accused of being a super-spreader for Covid, with a number of famous faces including Camilla’s ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles (pictured left), comedian Lee Mack (pictured right) and footballer Charlie Austin among those to catch the virus at the festival two years ago
But the festival came in for criticism, including from Sir David King, the government’s chief scientific adviser from 2000 to 2007, who said it was ‘the best possible way to accelerate the spread of the virus’.
Jeremy Hunt, chairman of the health and social care select committee, told BBC’s Newsnight at the time: ‘I think it is surprising and concerning that we’re not doing any of it at all when we have just four weeks before we get to the stage that Italy is at.
‘The issue is not whether you or I might get infected at a football match, it’s who we go on to meet.’
A report by MPs later linked 41 Covid deaths to Cheltenham, and a further 37 to the decision to stage Liverpool’s Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid in March 2020
MPs said that it was not clear if the deaths were a direct result of being at the events themselves, or whether they came from associated activities like travelling or people congregating in pubs.
