Cinemas, theatres and gyms may reopen in a few days – but are they ready for it?

When the number of vaccinations reaches 4 million in Hungary, new measures will come into force. Many of these measures are dependent on the security certificate and cause the reopening of various services, like theatres, gyms and cinemas.

Before the pandemic, there were about 800 gyms in the country, of which between 50 and 100 will not be able to reopen, József Kiss, Secretary-General of the National Association of Hungarian Fitness Rooms, told Portfolio. According to him, some of the guests will not return.

According to the regulations, an athlete with a competition license may enter a sports facility only with proof of protection. However, he believes that this could be talked about on the merits after Thursday; in the meantime, it could be amended.

The sales revenue of the gyms in Hungary amounts to tens of billions of forints a year, but they did not receive significant support. According to the Secretary-General, around 20 per cent of them would not be able to recover.

The fitness rooms have frozen their passes for the duration of their closure; they will be valid again from the reopening. Some guests have also reclaimed the price of their passes.

In the case of cinemas, there is no shortage of films, but there is a shortage of manpower, and in many places, the news of the reopening came unexpectedly. 

We want to reopen this week, at the latest, this weekend. If the number of vaccinated reaches four million and all conditions are met […]

– said at the request of 24.hu Tamás Liszka, the CEO of Budapest Film, which operates the cinemas Corvin, Művész, Pushkin, Toldi, Tabán and Kino in the capital.

We definitely want cinemas to open for the first time: we didn’t screen a single cube for five months, now we really want to. All of our employees will be in masks, disinfection will be continuous, hand sanitisers will be available everywhere, and we will try to keep our distance.

The issued government statement will make security certificates mandatory. This will be taken very seriously; the verification of the certificates will be the task of the ticket managers.

There was a lot of support and unprecedented love for the cinema, which helps the cinema redesign it.

– said Zsuzsanna Deák, the press officer of the Cirko Cinema.

For example, they are renovating, and they need to finish before they can reopen. After the closure, some financial aids were provided for the cinema with pre-purchased cinema passes and other subsidies.

Cinema City will not reopen instantly for a specific reason. Marketing director Andrea Buda spoke to 24.hu about this.

Obviously, we want to wait for the four million vaccinees, and there are a lot of other questions, so if we reach this number on Friday, for example, we won’t be able to open it on Saturday,

-she said-

The permanent workers remained. The members of the service staff that the viewer meets were all students.

Index.hu asked the theatres how they are preparing for the reopening. Most theatres are still careful and are in consultation with professionals.

Orlai Production focuses on summer outdoor stages.
Until we can guarantee complete safety, we will not risk the opening, – theatre manager Tibor Orlai told Index, adding that they will look forward to the summer with hope, as they will be present on all major outdoor stages.

The Katona József Theater in Budapest would keep its previous plan with King Lear rehearsals and performances for May. Still, they are not so optimistic about the audience’s willingness to return to theatres.

Örkény will not play in May, as it marks the end of the regular seasons.

The Central will open at the end of June at the earliest, as it will stay closed until all workers have gained complete protection. The theatre wants to perform at the Keszthely Summer Games.

The Csokonai Theater in Debrecen opens with a piece reflecting on the pandemic situation. Through glass walls, with the help of headphones, the spectators can follow the adaptation of the Shakespeare play.

The Pécs National Theater will give a balcony concert early on April 30th, at 7 p.m.

Játékszín is counting on outdoor stages, but there won’t be a summer break either.

Szeged Contemporary Ballet depends on the other stone theatres, as it does not have a building.

They are ready for the reopening in Kecskemét with an air steriliser system.

The Baltazár Theater is waiting for the opening of community homes; the whole company is very much looking forward to getting back to work.

The Cellar Theater will start again at the end of May.

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Source: portfolio.hu, 24.hu, index.hu