CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) SAFETY MEASURES.
Familiarise yourself with our new safety measures before you visit
This page lists everything you need to know about visiting our Globe Theatre Guided Tour and Swan Bar & Restaurant during the COVID-19 / Coronavirus outbreak. This page was last updated on Wednesday 19 August 2020.
We have worked hard to change our new-format Globe Theatre Guided Tour at this time and have consequently adjusted our tour route, opening hours and the number of tickets available per tour. Please make sure you book your ticket in advance.
For those visiting the Swan Bar & Restaurant, you can read our guidance below and contact Swan directly for table reservations.
We want you to feel confident and comfortable when visiting (and working at) our site. Browse the sections below to find out more about:
- Which spaces are currently open
- Our guidance on social distancing and cleaning and hand sanitising
- How our staff have been trained to support you at this time
- Our guidance on wearing face coverings
- How changes influence access
- How we’re taking part in Test and Trace
If you or any of your household are feeling unwell, showing Coronavirus symptoms or have been told to self-isolate, please do not visit us. Instead, please contact us and we can arrange to move your ticket(s) to another date.
We have made lots of operational changes and received Public Health England’s ‘Good to Go’ accreditation prior to recommencing our Guided Tours.
RELATED STORIES
Check our latest reopening blogs to keep up to date with any announcements and changes.
SPACES
At the moment, the only spaces open at Shakespeare’s Globe are for our pre-booked Globe Theatre Guided Tour and those visiting the Swan Bar & Restaurant. We are not ‘fully’ open. All other indoor spaces at Shakespeare’s Globe are still closed to the public, such as our Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Foyer, Cafe and our staff offices. The Globe Theatre is still closed for performances. Note that whilst our physical shop is closed, our online shop is now open.
When attending a Guided Tour, go to the entrance by the Groundling Gates on Bankside (SE1 9DT, opposite the river) where a staff member will greet you at an outdoor information pod. Interaction with us is contactless and you can show your booking reference on a device and don’t need to print anything out or hand anything over.
As a roofless theatre, the tour takes place across open-air areas only and will allow visitors to see the outdoor Piazza and then the open-air yard, lower gallery and stage of the Globe Theatre. When the tour finishes, the you will exit via the Piazza.
Our tours last 50 minutes and will run between 10.00am and 4.00pm (last tour departs 3.00pm).
The area of Bankside, where we are located, has many eateries and other businesses that are beginning to reopen. Please make arrangements prior to your visit, for example, contact restaurants directly to book tables in advance.
Our usual security measures are still in place – please note that cloakrooms are currently closed and no large bags are allowed on site.
Read our new step-by-step blog should you require further guidance on visiting us at this time.
CLEANING AND HAND SANITISING
During a tour, there will be hand sanitiser stations available for the public and staff, in multiple locations across our site. If you wish to use soap and running water, toilets will be open and a staff member can show you where these are (they are next to the Supporters Wall). If you wish to dispose of any wipes or other personal rubbish, there are bins located on the Piazza.
We have enhanced cleaning at this time. Toilets are cleaned hourly and any ‘high-risk’ surfaces like door handles will be cleaned every 30 minutes.
Our tours are ‘contactless’:
- When you arrive, you can show your booking reference on a device and don’t need to print anything out or hand anything over to us.
- You need to book your tour in advance, via our website, but if (for whatever reason), a payment needs to be taken on the day, this will be contactless, with no cash being accepted and information browsable on your own devices via QR codes.
- To reduce contact with ‘high-touch’ surfaces, the tour route has been adapted to ensure that the doors that link our open-air spaces can be left open for you.
- To protect you at this time, please try not to touch spaces during the tour. If a Touch Tour is required or you have any other access requirements, please contact us in advance of booking your tickets.
STAFF
When attending a Guided Tour, you will be in the hands of our Visitor Experience team, which includes tour guides, welcome staff and onsite duty management who have all been trained with the relevant workplace Coronavirus risk assessments and understand how to adapt accordingly at this time. They are on-hand to support you during your visit so please voice any questions and know that we are here to help.
All staff will sanitise their hands after every tour (every hour). They will be wearing see-through face-shields and may choose to wear gloves. Staff members located in our information pod will be behind perspex, for both staff and visitor safety.
FACE COVERINGS
We strongly encourage those who visit us and can do, to wear a face covering, for the comfort and safety of other visitors and staff.
When you attend a tour, our staff will be wearing face-shields.
Visit the GOV.UK website to find out more about face coverings, and download resources (such as wearable badges) if you are someone who is exempt.
ACCESS
Please let us know in advance if you or anyone in your party has any physical access requirements (such as step-free or wheelchair access). You can type these details into a box during the online booking process.
If you have any other access requirements (such as needing a Touch Tour or a BSL interpreter), please email us before booking, so we can discuss what adjustments we can put in place.
TEST AND TRACE
In addition to the uses set out in our privacy policy, we will store your data for 21 days following your visit to us, for use as part of the UK Government’s Test and Trace scheme. Your data will always be held in a secure and GDPR-compliant way.
CONTACT US
Once you have booked your tour ticket, we will communicate with you via email to prepare you for your visit.
Do contact us if you have any questions, but rest assured that if any guidance changes between your booking and your visit, we will notify you by email.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
OPENING HOURS
The opening hours for Swan Bar & Restaurant, Guided Tours, Box Office & Shop
Discover More
SWAN BAR & RESTAURANT
Both the bar and restaurant are now open, with new opening times and new menus
Discover More
HELP SUPPORT OUR BELOVED THEATRE.
With so many of our activities still on hold, we need you more than ever to help secure our future.
Please donate any amount, small or large, or join our community as a Member.
MORE USEFUL LINKS
Please visit the UK Government and NHS websites for more information and guidance on Coronavirus (COVID-19).
SOCIAL DISTANCING
As you may attend a Guided Tour with other members of the public (up to 20 persons per tour), we encourage a 1.5m social distance between people. This is enforced by staff and through visible markers on the floor.
Tours will follow a one-way system and only take you through areas that are 1.5m wide or more, the route having been adjusted to ensure that it takes you through wide, open-air spaces only.
Our tours are family-friendly and we look forward to welcoming all ages to the Globe Theatre. We do ask that adults ensure children are following social distancing guidelines throughout the tour.