Welcoming you back safely

We are delighted to welcome you back to the Grand Opera House. Please read the following information carefully and share it with all other members of your party. If you booked tickets on behalf of someone else, please forward this information to them.

The Northern Ireland Executive has removed social distancing restrictions for theatres, and we will therefore be operating at full capacity.

For the protection of all audience members and staff, we will only admit ticketholders after they have completed a Covid Status Check at the entrance to the Theatre. The Theatre will open one hour before performances begin, and we would encourage all ticketholders to arrive early to allow sufficient time to complete this check.

Covid Status Check

All ticketholders aged 18 and over, will need to provide one of the following:

• Proof of full vaccination, with the second dose having been given at least 14 days earlier. Acceptable forms of proof include Covid immunisation record cards, COVIDCert NI certificates, and any official documentation from outside Northern Ireland such as the EU Digital Covid Certificate or the NHS Covid Pass.
• Proof of a negative Lateral Flow Test taken no more than 24 hours in advance. This will be in the form of an official SMS message which you will receive after completing and registering your Lateral Flow Test result at https://www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result        
• Proof of natural immunity shown by a positive PCR test result for Covid issued between 30 and 180 days earlier. Any self-isolation period must have elapsed before coming to the Theatre.

In addition, all ticketholders over 18 must bring photo ID as they may be required to show this to Theatre staff.

Please note that if you or a member of your party are displaying Covid symptoms or are required to self-isolate, you must not come to the Theatre. All tickets in your booking will be exchanged or a credit note given, as long as you let us know before 11am on the day of the performance.

What to expect in the Theatre

Contact tracing

We are required by law to ask all ticketholders over the age of 16 to scan a QR code and complete a short contact tracing form detailing their name, phone number and date/time of arrival. Anyone unable to scan this code will be asked to complete a manual form. This data will be held securely for 21 days before being deleted, and will be provided to the Public Health Agency on request. Details of how we manage this data can be found at https://www.goh.co.uk/privacy-policy/

Covid safety measures

Your safety is our number one priority, and we have put in place the following measures to reduce the risk of Covid transmission once inside the Theatre:

• Face coverings are mandatory in all parts of the Theatre unless you are eating, drinking, or exempt
• You will be asked to sanitise your hands on arrival; hand sanitisers are also readily available throughout the building
• To minimise contact between staff and theatregoers, screens are in place at all bars and at the box office counter. Contactless payment is also available throughout the Theatre
• The Theatre will be thoroughly cleaned between performances

Food and drink

Please note that the following applies to performances up to 31 October only, after which hospitality legislation will be relaxed:

To comply with Covid hospitality regulations, food and drink may only be consumed whilst seated. Although there will be no social distancing in the auditorium, social distancing rules continue to apply in the Theatre’s four bars. Because of this, seating in the bar areas is limited, and we would encourage ticketholders to take their seats in the auditorium as soon as they have made food and drink purchases. As alcohol is not allowed in the auditorium, only soft drinks will be available from our bars.

Minimising crowding

To minimise crowding in any part of the Theatre foyer and bars, we ask that theatregoers use the following facilities:

Stalls ticketholders:

• Use the Stalls Bar pre-show and during the interval
• Use the toilets adjacent to the Stalls Bar
• Use the confectionery stand on the Grand Circle Mezzanine

Grand Circle ticketholders:

• Access and exit the Grand Circle level via the helical staircase in the Stalls foyer
• Use the Stalls Bar or the Grand Circle Bar pre-show and during the interval
• Use the toilets adjacent to the Stalls Bar, or the Ladies toilets on the Grand Circle Mezzanine
• Use the confectionery stand on the Grand Circle Mezzanine

Upper Circle ticketholders:

Access and exit the Upper Circle via the staircase beside the Confectionery Stand on the ground floor (follow the signs for the Confectionery Stand from the entrance doors; the staircase is just beyond this)

• Use the Upper Circle and Studio Bars pre-show and during the interval
• Use the Upper Circle toilets
• Use the confectionery stand on the ground floor

Gods ticketholders:

• Access and exit the Upper Circle and Gods via the staircase beside the Confectionery Stand on the ground floor (follow the signs for the Confectionery Stand from the entrance doors; the staircase is just beyond this)
• Use the Upper Circle and Studio Bars pre-show and during the interval
• Use the Upper Circle toilets
• Use the confectionery stand on the ground floor

For customers with access requirements, there is a lift next to the entrance that serves the Grand Circle, Upper Circle and Gods floors.

We keep our Covid-secure measures under regular review and will update our procedures in line with any new guidance or requirement issued by local or central government.

We will send you a pre-show email a few days ahead of your visit to remind you of the latest guidance, but please also check back to this page shortly before attending. All information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to change in response to Government guidelines.

We look forward to seeing you, and hope you enjoy your visit.

New Covid protocols
Version 1, 1 October 2021