The Dorset Arts Festival 2020 is one of the first larger public events taking place after the Coronavirus lockdown. The event launched today, Friday 3rd July, and carries on all weekend.

On Saturday 4 July, the council will open most playgrounds and play areas across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. The remaining parks open on Monday 6 July.

The National Trust have opened more than 100 gardens and parks across the country. Some local properties remain closed, including Brownsea Island, but there are still many fabulous places currently open.

Whilst a number of large scale events across Dorset have been cancelled, Sculpture by the Lakes near Dorchester, the hosts and organisers of Dorset Arts Festival, are confident that a strict visitor cap and crowd control, paired with extensive social distancing set in a vast 26-acre outdoor venue, can guarantee visitor, exhibitor and staff safety.

A major incident has been declared after thousands of people defied advice to stay away and descended on Bournemouth beaches on the hottest day of the year so far.  

The London Repertory Players have very reluctantly and sadly cancelled this year's summer season, in negotiation with the Shelley Theatre. The Shelley Theatre will not reopen in time for the season to begin.

Unable to meet for its weekly rehearsal at Lighthouse, Bournemouth Symphony Chorus has been singing loud and clear… online.

Boscombe High Street has been hit with a stampede of colour as a new large-scale mural, commissioned by Bournemouth Emerging Arts Fringe (BEAF), is unveiled on the front of the Sovereign Centre this week.

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Take responsibility and Think Twice if you get to the beach and find it’s too busy.

Drama, dance and all forms of visual art course through its veins, but ever since it opened more than 40 years ago the beating heart of Lighthouse has kept time to the rhythm of bass, guitar and drum.  

The Bournemouth Air Festival and other summer events have been cancelled due to the continued impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

March and April 2020 have been unusually warm and sunny making the Coronavirus lockdown and staying home even harder.

Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch hoteliers have published a ‘Covid-19 Action Plan’ so it can re-open its hotels as soon as possible and be ready when lockdown restrictions are lifted.

 Two of Dorset’s most popular arts festivals – Inside Out Dorset and b-side – are to be postponed until next year as a consequence of the on-going coronavirus pandemic.

Award-winning storyteller Michele O’Brien is to share Sunday bedtime stories with Lighthouse Facebook visitors.

Yellow Buses is reducing its services over the four day Easter Weekend as it is expected to carry just seven per cent of its usual passenger numbers.

Bournemouth Pier has a short message for everyone during the Coronavirus lock down.

A video by Mattia Sitaglia shot on the 4th April shows an eerie and empty Bournemouth as the Coronavirus lockdown continues.

VisitEngland has used this year’s English Tourism Week to highlight the economic importance and value of tourism to local economies across England is going virtual.

Generous ticket holders have donated more than £8,000 to Lighthouse since Poole’s centre for the arts closed its doors last week in line with the country-wide closure of venues and other measures to stop the spread on COVID-19.

As efforts continue to reschedule shows that have been postponed or cancelled Lighthouse is contacting ticket holders who are able to choose between a full refund, a credit note or to donate all or some of the cost of their tickets to the venue. Of the first 500 customers to reply to the email they received, 116 offered a full donation and a further 84 offered to split a donation with a refund or credit note.

“Lighthouse audiences are absolutely amazing; we cannot be more grateful," says Chief Executive Elspeth McBain. “Their support is as unprecedented as the times we are living in and as our incredible staff continue to work really hard in response to the virus emergency, we have been genuinely humbled by people’s goodwill.  Most of our income comes from ticket sales and the money our audiences spend when they come to Lighthouse and without shows there are no audiences. We're working hard to reschedule lost performances, but we're a small team and that will take some time so we ask our customers to please bear with us, we will be in touch. Meanwhile, we are truly grateful for this phenomenal generosity.” 

All ticket holders are being contacted by email or phone and of those contacted by phone, more than £500 was donated in the first two days alone.  

Adds Elspeth: “In troubled times it’s a natural response to turn to the creative arts and although we must all lead quite different lives for the time being, I look forward to the time when we can welcome our audiences back to Lighthouse – what a happy day that will be.”  

Lighthouse Ticket Office staff that have been phoning ticket holders have been moved to tears by some of the responses they have received.  

“People have been incredibly understanding and it’s fair to say some of the team have found it quite emotional,” says Ticket Sales Manager Steve Lambert. “Although we often hear how much our audiences enjoy shows they come to see it’s very rare to be told how much Lighthouse itself means to people and how big a part of their lives it is.  These are difficult days for all of us, but the good wishes and true kindness of our customers are making a tough time much easier to work through.”  

Ticket holders do not need to contact Lighthouse, all will be contacted in due course by the venue. Staff are responding to queries during office hours, Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, but Lighthouse phone lines will remain closed until further notice.

In our sixth photo challenge, we have three photos for you to place and date.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has created a range of challenges for the tourism industry in terms of cancellations and temporary closures.

We joined the new team at The Bear of Burton to be among the first to experience the pub following a £2m refurbishment by pub and hotels group Fuller’s.

In our fifth photo date and place challenge, we had a view of Bournemouth beach and pier from Alum Chine.

The new South Coast Makers Market took place in Bournemouth on Saturday 7th March 2020.

Yellow Coaches is upgrading its vehicles to ones that are so green they produce less harmful nitrogen oxide than the average family diesel car. And the operator – part of Bournemouth-based Yellow Buses – has re-branded its fleet so they stand out even more on the roads.

Sir Merton Russell-Cotes (1835-1921) is best known for co-founding the art gallery and museum in Bournemouth that bears his name. He came to prominence as the owner of the Royal Bath Hotel, an establishment renowned for its illustrious guests, fine art and first-class service.

Come on in, the water's lovely! Whatever the weather, having a hotel with a swimming pool means there is always somewhere to show off your swimwear and have a splash around.

In our fourth photo date and place challenge, we had a view of Boscombe near the pier, with the Chine Gardens in the foreground.

Arts by the Sea is 10! The popular festival returns 25th - 27th September 2020 and will explore ‘Journeys’ as the theme for our 10th anniversary!