GLASGOW'S pubs and restaurants will be allowed to play music when they reopen, the Scottish government has confirmed.

Pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues will be allowed to play background music, the Scottish government has confirmed, regardless of the level of restrictions imposed in the area. 

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It comes as Glasgow's cafes and restaurants prepare for a limited reopening on Saturday as the city moves from level four to three lockdown restrictions.

In level three, restaurants, cafes and pubs will be allowed to open until 6pm but are barred from serving alcohol. 

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The move is a U-turn for the government, which banned all background music from August 14. 

Scotland was the only country to bar background music and the government was widely criticised by the hospitality industry for the ban.

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The Night-Time Industries Association Scotland (NTIAS) - which represents hospitality and events venues - launched a campaign to reinstate music in venues which fell silent across the country earlier this year.

Campaigners described the ban as a "kiss of death" for the industry. 

The Scottish government published advice on playing music earlier this evening. 

Hospitality workers will need to make their own decisions about what is a safe volume at which to play music.

The government wants to stop people shouting or leaning in to be heard over excessively loud music, behaviours they say contribute to the spread of the deadly bug.