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Chelsea Flower Show tickets selling out despite Indian variant fears

Chelsea Flower Show
Chelsea Flower Show

Corporate packages for wining and dining clients at the Chelsea Flower Show are "pretty much sold out", caterer Sodexo has said, as Britons shrug off growing concerns over the Indian variant to flock back to the biggest events in the social season.

Chris Bray, chief executive of Sodexo's sport and leisure business, said "there doesn't appear to be the fear factor we thought might be there among the public", and instead people were racing to secure tickets to

Sodexo is providing hospitality at the Royal Ascot event next month as well as at Henley Regatta in August, and then the Chelsea Flower Show in September. The French company offers hospitality packages at those events, which include tickets and fine dining provided by Michelin-starred chefs.

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At Ascot, which is taking place between June 15 and 19, Simon Rogan, Raymond Bland and Ollie Dabbous will be providing the food that will be delivered to people's boxes.

Mr Bray said: "There's no real drag on the industry in terms of a hangover because people are frightened. People are desperate to get back and find some level of normality again after what has been a very long 12 months."

While at Ascot, only 12,000 people will be admitted a day compared to 60,000 people normally, due to government social distancing guidelines, Mr Bray said Sodexo was expecting hospitality at events later this year to be "almost at full capacity".

"We're confident that the hospitality side of those events will be back at that level, with the social distancing requirements in place."

His comments come as government ministers said they could not guarantee they would not delay the June 21 date to remove all Covid-19 restrictions, amid growing concerns over the spread of the Indian variant.

Figures have suggested that as many as three quarters of new Covid cases in the UK are the Indian variant, which is said to be more transmissible than other strains that had emerged in Britain.

Mr Bray said: "There is always a concern [that variants could delay the roadmap] and I think that's why we've got to be cautious. We've got to take our time in getting the business and the hospitality industry back open again.

"There is still a large amount of confidence that we're going to hit that June 21 target among hospitality bosses, so that's what we're working towards at the moment. But clearly we do need to follow the guidance."

Will you be attending big events like the Chelsea Flower Show and Royal Ascot this year? Tell us in the comments section below