A number of arts and entertainment venues – including cinemas and art galleries – announced they will close on Monday, however, some will remain open or amend their programme.
King Charles III approved the day of his mother’s funeral as a bank holiday during his proclamation ceremony on Saturday. The bank holiday will mark the last day of the period of national mourning.
The Queen’s funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday September 19.
Government guidance says: “Organisations may choose to close on the day of the state funeral, however there is no obligation to do so and this is at the discretion of individual organisations.”
Some Aberdeen and Inverness venues made the decision to close for the day or part of the day. Here’s everything you need to know about Monday’s closures:
Cinemas
All of Cineworld‘s UK cinemas – including its two Aberdeen branches – will be closed on Monday.
Aberdeen independent cinema Belmont Filmhouse will also be closed.
Meanwhile, Vue, on Shiprow, will be screening the live broadcast of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. Seats will be free of charge and the cinema’s retail offering will be limited to complimentary bottled water during the broadcast, with no other snacks or drinks available for purchase. No other content will be shown on Monday.
Tickets are free but need to be booked in advance here.
Libraries, galleries and museums
Aberdeen City Council announced that local libraries, galleries and museums will be closed on the day of the royal funeral.
This means that Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums – which operates Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen Maritime Museum, Cowdray Hall and Provost Skene’s House – will be shut and will reopen on Tuesday September 20.
Theatre and music
Aberdeen Performing Arts
Aberdeen Performing Arts – which runs His Majesty’s Theatre, Music Hall, and The Lemon Tree – confirmed all of its venues will be closed. There weren’t any shows planned for HMT or the Music Hall, but Starsailor’s gig at The Lemon Tree will be postponed. It’ll now take place on Tuesday September 20.
Wonder Hoose – a new pop-up performing arts venue in the Marischal College quad – also cancelled its ‘Local Music Night: Ben Lee Collett & Monza Express’ event on Monday.
The Tivoli Theatre
The Guild Street venue doesn’t have any performances planned for Monday. Ricky Ross will take to The Tivoli stage on Tuesday as planned. You can read our interview with the Deacon Blue singer here.
Aberdeen Arts Centre
Similarly, Aberdeen Arts Centre doesn’t have any shows scheduled for the day of the Queen’s funeral.
Inverness: Eden Court
Eden Court in Inverness announced its venues will be closed during the day on Monday but will open at 5.15pm and their scheduled evening performances – including Ocean Film Festival World Tour – will be going ahead. Click here to see which Eden Court events take place on Monday September 19.
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