The boss of Reading and Leeds festivals has called for mass coronavirus testing in order to reopen the hospitality sector and boost the ailing economy.
Melvin Benn, managing director of Festival Republic, said testing should be increased to 400,000 per day to have the programme up and running in November.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think people would be queuing up to be tested if it gave them the opportunity to go to football matches or entertainment venues or to restaurants or to cinemas, etc.
“So we can go through the winter with all the venues, all the restaurants, all the stadiums open at full capacity and beginning to put the economy back on track.”
Mr Benn's suggestion comes hot on the heels of his vision for a "full house" at Leeds Festival 2021.
The music mogul, who also runs Download, V Festival and Benicassim, told the BBC it would be "impossible" to only partially reopen Bramham Park for next year's Leeds Festival and that sell-out crowds are a necessity.
His stark warning came as he suggested that two years without big crowds would have a crippling effect on the music industry and Festival Republic.
He warned: "It can't happen two years on the trot."
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