Fans returned to nightclubs at midnight last night (July 19) as all legal Covid restrictions were removed on ‘freedom day,’ as it has been dubbed by politicians and journalists in the UK.

Nightlife returned to England for the first time in 16 months, as per the Government’s unlocking plan. The country has entered the final stage of its path out of lockdown, and nightclubs are open without social distancing measures or capacity limits.

A number of nightclubs held special opening parties for the joyous occasion. Fans were pictured mask-free and queuing up in droves as they returned to clubbing. This was the first time many of these businesses had opened since the pandemic began.

#FreedomDay from Heaven, central London, as nightclubs open again after 16 months pic.twitter.com/p0hkTdr8S1

— Benjamin Butterworth (@benjaminbutter) July 18, 2021

2000 clubbers partying without face masks or social distancing at Newcastle's largest nightclub Digital which opened at midnight on #FreedomDay after being closed for 17 months during the #Covid19UK pandemic

https://t.co/QIEIBLcZ0A

@ChronicleLive #freedomdayUK #photography pic.twitter.com/rsXyuD6bvI

— Craig Connor (@ConnorReachPLC) July 19, 2021

Everyone was so excited about clubs reopening last night after 16 long months. I would have loved it when I was their age. I felt so sorry for them.
But I only give them a few weekends before they are locked down again.#nightclubs #freedomday #clubs #party pic.twitter.com/c6Dm47wX5Q

— C**Rees** (@Chr1stop4) July 19, 2021

Amazing scenes in Newcastle last night as hundreds of revellers queued for 12am reopening of nightclubs and then partied on the dance floor til 3am
Video by @RaoulDixonNNP and @WillWalkerNNP #FreedomDay #freedomdayUK #FreeDumbDay pic.twitter.com/QhkjznYRLp

— North News (@northnews) July 19, 2021

Brits dance the night away in nightclubs from midnight as UK finally unlocks #FreedomDay pic.twitter.com/y6hEivYoZt

— The Sun (@TheSun) July 19, 2021

Last week, REKOM UK, the UK's largest operator of nightclubs and pubs rejected the government’s advice to request Covid passports from nightclub revellers. A new poll conducted by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) found that 8 in 10 nightclubs will follow suit.

NTIA boss Michael Kill told NME that the challenge for nightclubs was “to be responsible” when reopening their venues.

“We have to be realistic in terms of protecting our staff and customers while retaining some key protocols and really consider the government guidance,” he said. “We need to do our part. We can’t just say: ‘The doors are open – let’s run’. Let’s proceed with caution.”

In Ireland there is currently no date set for the reopening of nightclubs. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar suggested that nightclubs may open in August or September. A decision on indoor dining in Ireland will be made on Wednesday, as the Delta variant has resulted in a sharp rise in cases in recent weeks.