Illegal rave organisers to be fined up to £10,000 under new restrictions

Illegal raves have been on the rise during the coronavirus pandemic, as young people seek entertainment while clubs are closed and festivals are cancelled. Now, the UK government has announced a crackdown, with rave organisers set to be fined up to £10,000 as part of the latest lockdown-easing plans.

On Friday (August 14), some further restrictions to the UK lockdown were lifted, such as allowing indoor music and theatre performances to take place again. Nightclubs, however, remain shuttered, and in a pre-emptive move to stop any more “unlicensed music events” while they’re still closed, the government said that police will be given powers to issue fines to organisers of events with crowds larger than 30.

There have been some 500 unlicensed events this summer, according to DJ Mag, with police saying that they are responding to 23 events a day.

Two ‘quarantine raves’ took place at Daisy Nook park, Oldham, and in Carrington, Manchester, over a weekend in June. The raves made headlines for the number of attendees breaking lockdown, stabbings, and a rape that took place there. Experts subsequently predicted a rise in illegal raves over the summer.

Revisit our article exploring what the future of partying might look like in a post-pandemic world.