The nation’s largest cinema chain, ODEON, is excited to announce it will begin reopening cinemas from Saturday 4 July, with new health and safety measures in place. Ten ODEON cinemas in England will be the first to open, with a further 88 UK cinemas set to reopen by 16 July.

To ensure guests can enjoy the ODEON safer cinema experience in the most controlled environment, ODEON has worked with the UK Cinema Association and UK Government to introduce enhanced health and safety measures to each site. These safety measures include:

• Safer Buying
  • Contactless experience, including booking online and contactless ticket checks in cinema and contactless till payments for purchasing food and drinks
  • Range of ‘Grab & Go’ pre-packaged food and drinks including a bottled drink, Butterkist popcorn and a bag of sweets to improve speed of service
• A Safer Space:

–     Limited seats on sale for each show and guaranteed unoccupied seats between guests to meet social distancing requirements, whilst enabling family groups and social bubbles to sit together
–     Staggered show start times to reduce queues, with safe queuing measures in place such as floor markings and cinema host support
–     Newly serviced air conditioning that ensures fresh air is delivered into all screens

• Enhanced cleaning by well-trained teams
  • More frequent cleaning routines on all high contact areas of the cinema guest journey
  • Guest sanitiser stations offering complimentary sanitising gels and wipes
  • Teams diligently trained on safety and hygiene measures, equipped with PPE, including face coverings and gloves

Carol Welch, Managing Director UK & IRE said: “We are excited to confirm that from 4 July, our UK cinemas will begin reopening.  We’ve carefully planned every step of our guest journey and put safety measures in place that will enable our highly trained colleagues to provide a controlled and safer cinema experience for all our guests.

“New measures include social distancing in our auditoriums and foyers, additional cleaning regimes, and a request to book tickets online prior to arrival.  We would like to thank our colleagues and guests for their patience during this period, and we can’t wait to welcome guests back to big screen entertainment and a safer cinema experience.”

Following three months of small screen home entertainment, virtual quizzes and endless remote scrolling, film fans can once again book tickets for the big screen from 25 June.  A mix of recent and remastered classics will be screened at ODEON following the reopening including 1917, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, re-released and remastered in 4k for its 40^th anniversary, Sonic the Hedgehog and Onwards, Little Women, Bad Boys for Life, Dirty Dancing and The Greatest Showman.

Summer’s big blockbusters are also just around the corner, beginning with Mulan and Tenet at the end of July alongside other new releases including Dreambuilders and Unhinged.

ODEON Trafford Centre, ODEON Luxe Birmingham Broadway Plaza, and ODEON Luxe Epsom will be amongst the first ten cinemas to reopen, while further film-loving communities can expect their local ODEONs including ODEON Liverpool ONE, ODEON Kingston, and flagship ODEON Luxe Leicester Square back by 16 July.

Film fans craving the big screen experience can purchase tickets from 25 June online at https://www.odeon.co.uk/.

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Notes to editors

The reopening of ODEON’s UK cinemas follows the successful and safe reopening of ODEON Cinema Group’s European sites in Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, built on consistent safety processes, and adapted to local Government regulations.

Reopening dates:

Saturday 4 July (tickets on sale from 25 June)

• ODEON Trafford Centre
• ODEON Luxe Birmingham Broadway Plaza
• ODEON Luxe Epsom
• ODEON Norwich
• ODEON Milton Keynes Stadium
• ODEON Bournemouth BH2
• ODEON Luxe Lee Valley
• ODEON Luxe Warrington
• ODEON Port Solent
• ODEON Luxe Durham

Friday 10 July (tickets on sale from 25 June)

• • ODEON Liverpool ONE
  • ODEON Metrocentre
  • ODEON Silverlink
  • ODEON Guildford
  • ODEON Luxe Liverpool Switch Island
  • ODEON Chatham
  • ODEON Luxe Telford
  • ODEON Luxe Tamworth
  • ODEON Luxe Maidenhead
  • ODEON Luxe Derby
  • ODEON Luxe Leicester
  • ODEON Mansfield
  • ODEON Luxe Hull
  • ODEON Tunbridge Wells
  • ODEON Luxe Bromborough
  • ODEON Beckenham
  • ODEON Luxe Stafford

Monday 13 July (tickets on sale from 25 June)

• • ODEON Luxe Aylesbury
  • ODEON Brighton
  • ODEON Colchester
  • ODEON Hatfield
  • ODEON Coventry
  • ODEON Kettering
  • ODEON Kingston
  • ODEON Luxe Leeds Thorpe
  • ODEON Luxe Leeds-Bradford
  • ODEON Luxe Leicester Square
  • ODEON Lincoln
  • ODEON Luxe Nuneaton
  • ODEON Trowbridge
  • ODEON Rochdale
  • ODEON Chelmsford
  • ODEON Surrey Quays
  • ODEON Taunton
  • ODEON Birmingham New Street
  • ODEON Blackpool
  • ODEON Camden
  • ODEON Northwich Baron Quays
  • ODEON West Brom
  • ODEON Greenwich
  • ODEON Hereford
  • ODEON Huddersfield
  • ODEON Orpington
  • ODEON Salisbury
  • ODEON Covent Garden
  • ODEON Uxbridge
  • ODEON Wimbledon
  • ODEON Oxford George Street

Wednesday 15 July (tickets on sale from 25 June)

• • ODEON Luxe Glasgow Quay
  • ODEON Dunfermline
  • ODEON Luxe Dundee
  • ODEON Luxe East Kilbride
  • ODEON Braehead
  • ODEON Edinburgh Fort Kinnaird
  • ODEON Luxe Edinburgh West
  • ODEON Kilmarnock

Thursday 16 July (tickets on sale from 25 June)

• ODEON Luxe & Dine Islington
• ODEON Oldham
• ODEON Oxford Magdalen Street
• ODEON Preston
• ODEON Richmond
• ODEON Southampton
• ODEON Stoke
• ODEON Streatham
• ODEON Luxe Swiss Cottage
• ODEON Bath
• ODEON Dudley
• ODEON Worcester
• ODEON Southend
• ODEON Great Northern
• ODEON Andover
• ODEON Banbury
• ODEON Basingstoke
• ODEON Bristol
• ODEON Tottenham Court Road
• ODEON Luxe Darlington
• ODEON Dorchester
• ODEON Exeter
• ODEON Harrogate
• ODEON Hastings
• ODEON Loughborough
• ODEON Newark
• ODEON Crewe
• ODEON Luxe Putney
• ODEON Luxe Sheffield
• ODEON South Woodford
• ODEON Swadlincote
• ODEON Luxe Haymarket