In July 2020, Britons enjoyed a brief respite from the isolation of Covid measures as pubs and bars opened again for business.

It became known as "Super Saturday".

Britain's pubs had been shuttered for more than four months during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, since Boris Johnson, then UK prime minister, held a TV address which announced strict new lockdown rules that included shutting down a number on non-essential venues – the country's pubs included.

On 24 June, 2020, the UK's governments announced that pubs, restaurants and hairdressers would be allowed to re-open from 4 July, but that people would still have to follow social distancing rules, as well as other safety measures such as more frequent hand cleaning.

The UK's pubs had largely remained open during two World Wars (even if opening hours had been curtailed during World War One during the working day and only repealed in the late 1980s.) The pub tradition had survived the Blitz and rationing, but now Britons had a new challenge: confronting the first few months of this crisis without the sanctuary of a pint at the bar.

The government's relaxation of some lockdown rules meant the UK's nightlife hotspots would see at least a semblance of normal activity return. Peter Summers, a photographer for the press picture agency Getty Images, who had spent the last few months covering Covid-related news events for the agency around London, knew that Soho was the place to be when the pubs reopened.

Soho, once the centre of London's sex industry, has become a historical epicentre of the English capital nightlife, thronged with bars, clubs, theatres and restaurants. As far as news agencies were concerned, this was the place where photographers would most likely capture iconic images. On 4 July, Summers found himself traipsing around Soho and training his camera on the unfolding festivities.

To prevent people going into venues, Soho's narrow streets had been closed to traffic, and tables and chairs had been placed in the streets; a common sight in places like France and Italy, but relatively rare in the UK. At about 22:00 or 23;00, Summers says, the streets reopened to traffic, which is when he snapped the pic of the shirtless man covering himself in water, lit by the coloured glow from nearby bars. "I think that was, like one of........

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