Norwegian brass banding has been given a huge boost of collective performance confidence after it was announced that as from 4.00pm on Saturday 25th September all Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted in the country.

"It is 561 days since we introduced the toughest measures in Norway in peacetime … Now the time has come to return to a normal daily life,"Prime Minister Erna Solberg told a news conference.

Full capacity

The decision to no longer require social distancing will allow culture and sports venues to utilise their full capacity, rather than just a portion of seats, while restaurants can fill up and nightclubs reopen.

It means that the major championship events of the Siddis Entertainment Championships and the 2022 Norwegian Championships can be played out to capacity audiences.

Over 76% of all Norwegians have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 67% of the population is fully vaccinated, according to its Institute of Public Health.

Even though everyday life is now back to normal for most people, the pandemic is not over. People will still get sick and therefore it is important that everyone gets vaccinatedNorwegian Prime Minister

Not over

The Prime Minister added: "Even though everyday life is now back to normal for most people, the pandemic is not over. People will still get sick and therefore it is important that everyone gets vaccinated."

However she warned that those who do contract COVID-19 must still go into isolation to avoid spreading the virus.