BOURNEMOUTH venues are preparing to welcome in the new year with no Covid restrictions in place.

Clubs, restaurants, bars and pubs in the area will be able to fully open for the first time in two years for New Year's Eve celebrations.

Cameo’s general manager Marc Fear said: “We are delighted to be given the opportunity to see 2022 in after such a turbulent couple of years with our Utopia event featuring confetti canons, selfie stations, inflatables and hundreds of glitter balls to create a night to remember.

"Of course, we know times are anything but normal and guest safety is our priority with Covid passes on entry, state of the art ventilation with air changes every four minutes and heightened sanitisation throughout the venue.

"It should be a great night with tickets selling fast and have almost sold out.”

Caitlin Longley, manager at Ojo Rojo said: "Obviously last year we got locked down just before New Year's Eve, so sadly we had to cancel all of our plans.

"We'd already planned everything and done all the ordering so it was a massive shame and a bit of a hit for us, so we're glad its going ahead.

"This year, we actually have an outside area open which is really great, particularly while Covid is still going on because obviously it's outside but it is all covered and it's well ventilated, so were glad we're able to do that.

"We're having a New Year's party in the evening but obviously we are still asking people to proceed with caution and take lateral flow tests before they come but hopefully it all goes to plan and we're really lucky that we're able to open."

Despite, no additional restrictions being put in place by the government, not all businesses will be able to hold events for New Year's Eve.

A spokesperson from The Porterhouse in Westbourne, said: "People are still very cautious of going out which is fair enough.

"Our sales have not massively gone down but they're not where they should be.

"On New Year's Eve, people always charge a lot more for entertainment, the cost almost doubles if not triples in some cases.

"We don't want to book someone and then it turns out that restrictions are in place and with a little venue like this, some restrictions could really restrict us beyond a manageable point, so we've just had to play it safe this year.

"We can't justify putting anything on, which is really upsetting to be honest because it would have been a good evening."