At best, theatres, theatres and concert halls will be able to reopen on 25 May, provided that the evolution of the pandemic allows for it. This was announced yesterday by the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, in his speech in the House. In addition, the reopening of cultural spaces will be subject to strict measures, as capacity will be limited.

The second four-phase programme, announced by the Spanish Government, will therefore involve many of the spaces offering cultural shows.

Although it did not do so at Tuesday’s press conference, the capacity will be limited to one-third of the people who usually have access to museums. Museums will be able to open a little before the halls, as Moncloa has introduced them in the first phase of de-escalation, starting on 11 May. In the case of public libraries, the opening of public libraries will be limited to the granting of loans, keeping reading rooms closed, on the right track from 11 May.

Small bookstores, for their part, can be opened from 4 May if data on the evolution of the pandemic allow it, as Moncloa has included them in phase 0 together with small shops. Once again, the keywords are “strict safety conditions” when talking about the return of these shops so important to publishers.

A limited number of viewers, key to alleviating the cultural home

Apart from phases and deadlines, it seems that one of the keys to the end of the cultural mansion will be the control of the number of public: in closed rooms a maximum of 30 people can be gathered in Phase 1 – from 11 May – and a maximum of 200 people if the show takes place outdoors, while the public remains seated. In a second phase, the maximum capacity will be 50 persons (closed rooms, respecting only one third of their capacity) and 400 (outdoor and sitting).

The measures announced this Tuesday have not cleared the uncertainty that many cultural professionals have about whether at the end of the state of alarm cultural shows will continue with a limited public. Pedro Sánchez has extended the duration of this “new normalcy” until the COVID-19 vaccine is found, which worries, because by limiting the capacity of the rooms so strictly, some cultural activities are not economically viable.