Portugal’s João D'Oliva Monteiro Cine-Theatre reopens with the help of GoldenSea UV disinfection products

João D'Oliva Monteiro Cine-Theatre in Alcobaça is considered one of the most beautiful in Portugal. The work of Swiss architect Ernesto Korrodi, the building is also of historic importance in Portuguese architecture, combining elements of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modernism and Functionalism. Its eclectic programme covers all forms of international and local music, dance and theatre productions. Commercial and independent cinema also makes up an important part of the venue’s programming, ensuring the Cine-Theatre has become the main focus of the social and cultural life of Alcobaça and its surroundings.

Following a period of enforced closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, João D'Oliva Monteiro Cine-Theatre joyfully reopened its doors at the start of October for the R'B & Mr.SC concert that marked the opening date of NOVO PALCO, a festival exclusively dedicated to artists of the municipality.

To enable this to happen in a COVID-secure way, Cine-Teatro de Alcobaça carried out a series of measures to adapt and effectively disinfect its performance and public spaces, meeting all the conditions of safety and hygiene to ensure the prevention of the spread of the new coronavirus.

Audience capacities were reduced to 50%, use of masks on the premises before, during and after the shows became mandatory, specific entrance, exit and circulation standards in the auditorium were implemented and appropriate signage installed.

In addition to these measures, the Cine-Theatre was also equipped with a system of UVC disinfection lights from GoldenSea UV which are used to sanitize the different spaces within the building using ultraviolet radiation.

Three UVL150 ultraviolet disinfection lights were supplied by GoldenSea UV’s Portuguese distributor, NAN of Lisbon. These are mounted on stands and located in the auditoria, on stage and in backstage areas to achieve maximum disinfection. NAN also supplied a single UV4C-H ultraviolet cabinet for the disinfection of smaller objects, such as headphones, mobile phones, microphones and all kinds of paraphernalia in everyday use. This innovative system of UV sanitisation is more effective in disinfecting surfaces and air than traditional methods based on aqueous or powder solutions.

"We want people to feel fully secure in resuming their cultural consumption routines in the municipality, which are essential for social cohesion," says the Mayor of Alcobaça, Paulo Inácio. “We are making every effort to ensure excellent conditions of hygiene and disinfection so that Alcobaçense cultural life is part of this 'new normal' that we will have to deal with in the near future.”

All GSUV products use Osram/Philips 253.7nm UV lamps which are the only ones certified as effective against Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. GSUV products have been designed with built-in security measures that guarantee compliance with the UNE 0068 specification and safe handling, such as delayed start to allow the evacuation of the area to be disinfected; remote control; motion sensor cut out; drop sensor (in mobile units); red or green indicator lights, as well as an audio warning signal.

“GoldenSea UV has a range of products to suit venues and spaces of all sizes and is proving very popular in the entertainment industry which has been hit very hard by the pandemic,” says NAN director, Luis Vidigal. “We are delighted that this range of products is so instrumental in enabling venues to reopen, albeit with limited capacity, and bring some form of activity back to our valued arts scene.”