MAJOR cinema chains are to close to customers on the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
Major chains including Cineworld, Odeon and Showcase will shut their sites on September 19 in a mark of respect.
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The Queen’s state funeral has been declared a bank holiday and several major retailers have also decided to shut up shop next week, out of respect.
Cineworld will close all of its one hundred cinema in the UK, and 17 Showcase branches will also be shut.
All 120 Odeon cinemas will be closed on Monday too.
Smaller operators including The Light – which has movie theatres in locations such as Cambridge, Sheffield and Stockport – will also close their doors for the day.
Other cinema chains including Curzon and Arc have chosen to screen the funeral for free while cancelling the rest of their programming that day.
Curzon has 12 cinema complexes throughout the UK, including in Camden, Victoria and Wimbledon.
Whereas Arc has just five cinemas, with locations in Great Yarmouth, Peterhead, Daventry and Hucknall and Besson in Nottinghamshire.
What should I do if I have tickets booked?
Cineworld said it is contacting anyone who has made a booking on Monday, September 19.
Odeon and Showcase have not yet confirmed what customers with existing bookings should do.
But Odeon customers can cancel a booking and request a refund through its website.
Showcase also allows customers to cancel their bookings free of change up to 30 minutes before the screening is set to begin.
Are other shops and retailers closed on the day of the Queen’s funeral?
The longest-reigning British monarch died on Thursday at the age of 96.
B&Q, Poundland and Primark have also confirmed that all their stores will close on Monday.
Zara is also set to close its 60 stores on Monday as a mark of respect.
Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Aldi, Waitrose, Lidl, Asda, Iceland and Tesco are to close the doors of their larger stores on the day Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest.
For a full list of shops that are shutting, read our guide.
As a mark of respect, Iceland has also decided to close all of its stores.
Co-op is also set to close all of its of its stores until 5pm on September 19.
John Lewis and Waitrose, as well as Marks and Spencer, are closing their shops as a mark of respect.
But some of their smaller convenience stores will remain open.
John Lewis Partnership is keeping a handful of food shops open along the funeral route.
A spokesman for The British Retail Consortium said: “Retailers are taking their lead from Government and are choosing to mark the Queen’s passing in ways they deem appropriate for their staff and customers.”
Tuesday marks the end of the period of national mourning.
Public museums, galleries and other arts and culture venues are not obliged to close during this time, although some have.
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.
“As with other organisations, these institutions may wish to display or share images of previous Royal visits, particularly if they are one of Her Majesty’s patronages.”
At midday on Monday there will be two minutes of silence across the nation and the London Stock Exchange will close, meaning no UK shares will be traded.
