How To Make Your Event Breathe Easy London Approved
We’re helping to promote any event that requires masks and/or tests by giving them our stamp of approval!
Breathe Easy London is on a mission to renormalise infection control and reintegrate Disabled people into public life in London.
Governments and the public have decided to abandon infection control and endanger those around them, putting already-marginalised communities at risk of Long COVID, social isolation, and death. Breathe Easy London wants to create spaces for people to socialise, find community, and have fun without putting themselves or others at risk of damage to their immune, cardiovascular, or nervous systems.
So, if you are (or know of anyone) organising an event and want to be safe, accessible, and inclusive, check out our guide below and contact us to be BEL Approved!
1) What does it mean to be Breathe Easy London (BEL) Approved?
We give our approval to events/venues that do all of the following:
Require masking with high-filtration masks (FFP2/3), for at least some of the event/space
Run a medical-grade HEPA air purifier, if the event is held indoors
Require proof of a negative COVID test for those not wearing a mask during the mask-required time/space
Provide us with details on how they will enforce their precautions, including:
Telling attendees at the door about the requirements
Having a sign with the requirements
Have a plan for reminding attendees about the requirements if they are not followed
Removing individuals from the designated space if they are not following requirements
Publicising information prior to the event about the required precautions (and ideally why they are implementing COVID safety, including the risk of Long COVID and accessibility for the Disabled community)
BEL-Approval is not as hard as it sounds! Even a mask-required hour or day can get you BEL-Approved. If Disabled people can be there safely, we’ll approve it.
2) Why should you want to be BEL-Approved?
To be safe:
COVID is still spreading. A summer surge is coming, and as of the end of May, weekly COVID deaths are up 65% per week. Test positivity is also on the rise, some places by 60% every week, and in London at least 20% weekly. Cases rates are 135% higher than six months ago. (It’s important to remember the testing rate is extremely low and the UK government paused data collection, so the real COVID rate in the UK is very likely much worse than reported.)
COVID causes permanent disability at a rate of at least 30%. Long COVID includes dysautonomia, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, autoimmune diseases, dementia, cancer and more. The risk of these increases with each infection.
COVID is highly infectious, with every 1 person with COVID infecting an average of 5–6 people. 1 in 3 COVID cases are asymptomatic, but all are equally as contagious. And we know know that COVID does not spread through droplets as originally thought, but rather it is airborne and moves through the air like smoke, meaning social distancing doesn’t work as well as we hoped, especially indoors.
Vaccines alone are not sufficient. Vaccines do not significantly prevent the spread of COVID-19 as they did originally and very few people are up to date on them.
Put simply, COVID is not and has never been over. It is still running rampant globally. Our governments abandoned us in the face of a highly infectious, disabling virus and now individual event planners and venues carry the responsibility of protecting their communities.
To be inclusive:
The rate of Long COVID is higher in those of marginalised identities. People of colour have a 32% Long COVID rate. Women have a 36% Long COVID rate. Transgender people have a 48% Long COVID rate. People with HIV have a 55% Long COVID rate. The list goes on.
Disabled people die from COVID at a rate 4 times higher than able-bodied people. One in four people are Disabled and one in fifty are immunocompromised.
These people deserve and are legally entitled to equal access to safe public life, and therefore your event.
To be popular:
COVID safety will increase your attendance rate, and these events have sold out in multiple cities (including every Breathe Easy London event to date)!
Breathe Easy London will publicise your events on our Instagram, website, and newsletter, which will go out to over 250 Londoners (and counting) eager to attend your event/venue!
3) How can you get BEL-Approval for your event/venue?
Email us at breatheeasyldn@gmail.com with your plan, and if it passes the requirements mentioned, we’ll send you a BEL-approved sticker to put on any assets and add your event/venue to our website!
4) “But the venue/other organisers won’t let me require masks!”
We’ve got a question for you: have you asked?
Chances are if you explain you want just one hour of your event (or one day of the month at your venue) to be accessible for immunocompromised people, they’ll be open to it (especially if it’s a private venue)!
5) What BEL-Approved events have happened already?
The first ever BEL-Approved event was QueerSwap, who now implement a “COVID-Safer Hour” for the first hour of their events held at private venues. This means for the first hour, attendees are required to either wear a high-filtration mask (FFP2/3) or show proof of a negative COVID test.
6) How to get BEL Approval for….
Shops/Markets:
Require masks for any period of time, even just one hour or day.
Ensure proper ventilation and run a HEPA air purifier.
Example: QueerSwap
Protests/Marches:
Require masks for any part of the protest, even just one section.
Example: London Dyke March
Picnics:
Require masks for any part of the picnic, even just one section (provided there is open air).
Example: the Big Queer Picnic
Club Nights:
Require masks for any part of the night, even just one hour.
Ensure proper ventilation and run a HEPA air purifier.
Performance/Open Mic/Comedy Show/etc:
Require masks for any part of the performance/space, even just one hour or seating area. (Note: a mask-required seating section will only be effective if there is a barrier or open air dividing the two areas. For example, if the mask section is inside and the unmasked section is outside, this would qualify for BEL-Approval, as it would ensure proper air flow. If one side of the room is masked and the other side is not, this would not qualify for BEL-Approval, as the air would be the same regardless of location.)
Ensure proper ventilation and run a HEPA air purifier.
Require any unmasked performers to take a molecular COVID test, such as a PlusLife. If you need help sourcing one to ensure your unmasked performers won’t cause infection, reach out to Breathe Easy London come August 2025 and we can help.
Restaurants:
Require all people in attendance provide proof of a negative COVID test in order to eat in the establishment, even just for one hour or day.
Require anyone who cannot provide proof of a negative COVID test to get takeaway, even just for one hour or day.
Ensure proper ventilation and run a HEPA air purifier.
7) BEL-Approved Events in June 2025:
Saturday 14th June, 14:00-16:00: Big Queer Picnic, Olympic Park. Free. Breathe Easy London will be there with our own little masked group.
Saturday, 21st June, 12:00: London Dyke March, from Westminster to Hyde Park. Free. Masks are required.
Saturday, 21st June, 19:00: Dyke Mosh, Deptford. £5-15. Masks are required.
8) Reviews of BEL-Approved events:
