At 8:33 this morning (16 June 2020) the Cineworld Twitter account announced the news that cinemas in England would be re-opening in July, along with the tweet was a link pointing to the guidelines and what Cineworld have set up at their cinemas to deal with the footfall of people entering the cinemas in England.
Cinemaworld have said, “We are excited to announce that we are planning to reopen Cineworld Cinemas across England on 10th July 2020. The opening date is subject to final clarifications and confirmation in regards to UK government restrictions, with dates to follow for our cinemas in Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
“We know how much you’ve been missing the cinema and we are thrilled to be back! With great films ahead, including Mulan, Tenet, A Quiet Place Part II, No Time To Die and many more, we can’t wait to welcome you back to Cineworld.“
In order to provide a safe environment for the Cineworld employees and guests in light of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, they are putting a number of safety measures in place:
SOCIAL DISTANCING
Social distancing measures will be implemented across all areas within the cinema.
HAND WASHING
All employee and customer toilets will be stocked with anti-bacterial hand soap, and stringent hand washing guidelines will be trained out to all employees to supplement our current personal hygiene policy.
HAND SANITISERS
Hand sanitizer stations will be provided in all cinemas for customers and employees.
ADDITIONAL CLEANING
Our already high cleaning standards will be enhanced by a cleaning programme designed to clean and sanitise the high touch points within the cinema.
E-TICKETING
Tickets will be available to book in advance on our website and via the Cineworld app, available on IOS and Android. Confirmation emails can be used as tickets, and e-tickets are available on the app.
UPDATED SEATING MAPS
Our booking system has been updated to allow friends and family to sit together while ensuring a safe distance between customers from different households in our cinema screens. This will vary on the capacity and layout of each screen.
STAGGERED FILM TIMES
Film start and end times will be staggered to reduce customers cross paths with other customers going in or out of other screens and buildup of crowds in the foyer. Additional cleaning time will be added between films.
PLASTIC SCREENS AT THE TILL
We will be adding screens at our concessions areas where safe distancing cannot be maintained.
CONTACTLESS PAYMENTS
Our tills will be accepting contactless card payments up to a value of £45 and Apple Pay/Google Pay mobile payments with no limit in our cinemas. The ticket machines in most of our cinemas also accept contactless payments and we’re working on upgrading the rest.
TRAINING & PPE
All employees will receive specific COVID-19 training and PPE will be provided to employees where the risk assessment has deemed it necessary, in line with government requirements.
SUPPORT FROM TEAM MEMBERS
Our trained staff will be on hand to offer assistance to customers. We remain committed to being “The Best Place To Watch A movie”.
Now for those of us that live in Wales, we may have to wait a little longer, here we still have a restriction on the distance we can travel, no more than 5 miles, plus we are still waiting on the news on the Cinemas re-opening in Wales. At Blazing Minds, we use the cinema in Broughton, but with the travel restrictions, it’s annoying that we can’t head to there until the restrictions have been lifted in Wales.
In the meantime, Cineworld has said that they are looking forward to welcoming customers back to Cineworld. Tickets will be available to book soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions please take a look at their Frequently Asked Questions here for any updates.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
