There were excited scenes across England as nightclubs opened for the first time in 16 moths.
Revellers described the midnight re-opening as "like New Year" as they queued up for their first night out dancing since the start of the pandemic.
It comes as the remaining coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England on Monday, allowing venues such as nightclubs to finally welcome back patrons.
Read more: What beaches and beauty spots in Wales looked like this weekend
Revellers in Wales have a longer wait but First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced that Wales is set to lift nearly all restrictions on people and businesses on Saturday, August 7, which includes nightclubs and festivals. You can read the full key details of Wales' Alert Level 0 and how it will change our lives here and the full timetable for easing lockdown in Wales here, along with the full rules. The full rules on masks in indoor venues are here.
Meanwhile, in England, they have been allowed to open from midnight on what has been dubbed 'Freedom Day'. At one club in London people queued for more than house and cheered as the clock struck midnight.
How it looked at one London club:
Fundraiser Chloe Waite, 37, who was first in the queue, said the occasion was "something we're going to remember for a long time."
"It's going to be a special night," she told the PA news agency.
"For me this is a New Year's-type event and something we're going to remember for a long, long time and we might not get the opportunity for a while."
Gabriel Wildsmith, 26, a video producer from London, who joined Ms Waite at the front of the line said he had missed "meeting random people" and making friends.
"I'm so excited I've been waiting for this for so long ... basically since we locked down," he said.
"I love going to clubs and I love meeting random people. You make great friends and you couldn't do that until tonight."
He added: "I've been here for an hour, I'm really keen."
The excitement was just as palpable in Leeds, where patrons queued to enter Bar Fibre.
"It feels so special," said bar owner Terry George. "People are treating it like a very special occasion, like a New Year's Eve type affair. Freedom Eve is what we're calling it.
"Finally, we're going to be able to dance. That's the biggest thing, which is kind of a little bit sad really, because we're given back something that's our given right, to be able to dance in a bar, in a club.
"It should've been something that was there much earlier than this."
Mr George, who had to close one of his three bars in Leeds due to financial pressures from the pandemic, said it would still take "a long time" to catch up on lost revenues, but "to have the place rocking again is going to be so exciting".
"What's it's been like for the last year and a half is stopping people dancing, coming up to people who are sat at a table saying 'You can't dance, you can't sing, you've got to keep quiet'. It's the opposite of what we're meant to be doing in the entertainment world."
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