Bristol Pryzm nightclub boss expects to be ‘very busy’ on NYE- and why he thinks clubs are ‘just as safe’ as pubs

A Bristol nightclub owner says he expects the city will be ‘very busy’ on New Year’s Eve as revellers are expected to flock from South Wales to dodge restrictions - despite Covid-19 positivity rates hitting a record high.

Peter Marks, chief executive officer of Rekom UK which owns Bristol’s Pryzm nightclub, said the business was ‘almost sold out’ for tonight’s NYE event, and only trading ‘at around less three per cent less than 2009 levels, meaning we expect to be very busy’.

Mr Marks also slammed the devolved governments, who have closed nightclubs and pubs over the Omicron surge, for using nightclubs as a ‘political football’ - and said it was ‘inevitable’ that people would travel across the border from Wales into Bristol to celebrate.

He told BBC Radio Bristol: “It’s bound to happen. If there had been weaker restrictions in Wales or Scotland, you can bet the direction of travel would have been the opposite.

“There is no evidence that nightclubs have been worse than any other indoor setting.

“I have to accept that any indoor setting is going to be higher risk than an outdoor one, but we have largely an audience of under 30s who have been vaccinated or shown a negative lateral flow test.”

It comes after new figures revealed that more than one in five people (23.6%) in Bristol tested positive for coronavirus in the week leading up to December 24, a figure that could be much higher after Christmas Day gatherings.

An ‘Omicron surge hub’ is currently being set up at Southmead Hospital to cope with a potential spike in patients, as well as a facility for patients who are well enough to be discharged but require extra care at The Bristol Hotel in Harbourside.

Due to rising cases, many restaurants, pubs and hotels throughout Bristol were forced to grapple with a wave of cancellations and saw bookings plummet over Christmas.

But Mr Marks said he was ‘delighted’ that Boris Johnson had taken the decision not to shut down the night-time economy in England and that he didn’t believe clubbers were likely to put further strain on the NHS due to their age.

He added: “You’re talking about people who are least likely to have a problem in mixing, and should they do so they’re not likely to put pressure on the NHS.

“This is also a group of people who have had such pain over the last few months over the controls, over the virus as it were, and have paid the biggest price.

“Most of our customers do care. They’re holding their own risk assessment as to whether or not they’re doing the right thing, and we believe most of them are vaccinated.”