uk-s-nightlife-is-dying

A couple of years ago, a rather unimagined cultural crisis started afflicting the UK. The regions’ messy, notorious but glorious nightlife started dying and how.

 

According to research by the Nighttime Industries Association, over the past four years, the UK has lost 37% of its clubs. Loosely translated, that's about 10 clubs closing each month. At this rate, estimated by several players in the industry, the UK could soon be staring at the end of the clubbing era.

 

In its heyday, UK’s famous nightlife comprised an eclectic mix of an array of bars, pubs and live music spaces where up and coming artistes scrambled to host gigs. Apart from the losses in jobs and revenues created by the nighttime economy, UK’s nightlife for decades now, has attracted tourists. So what could have caused the upheaval?

 

Many local British radio channels cite the economy of it all. Higher cost of living means less of the people are going out. Which means that the night time industries have had to bear the brunt of rising operational costs either through loss of revenues or through loss of customers.

 

One NTIA flashpoll of 500 businesses revealed that seventy percent of those in the industry barely break even or are operating at a loss.

 

According to the organisation’s current prediction, unless given a governmental push, things are so bleak that if the current rate of closures continues then on 31 December 2029, there might be no more clubs in the UK. A situation that would have been unheard of even till a decade back.

 

London is said to be particularly hit. The data further shows that between March 2020 and December 2023, a total of 3011 night economy businesses closed in London and its surrounding boroughs, which is the steepest fall for any English region.

 

It further reveals that in London specifically, 1165 businesses were lost in the same period. Michael Kill, the trade body’s executive chief, who calls UK’s night time economy as, “vital part of its social fabric,” says it is not just about entertainment, it is as much about identity, community and the economy.

 

In a trend that spells death knell for the independent music scene and upcoming artistes, there’s also a decline in the number of people attending live music venues. Those in the industry simply put it down to, “people are spending less because they have less to spend.”

 

Several representatives have been requesting the government for a bit of a break, a subsidy to allow business to survive and tide through the current bleak phase. There’s a need to reinvent the image and experience of clubbing as well. Since decades now, clubbing culture has found itself strongly associated with noise, dingy spaces, crowded bars and hedonism.

 

Earlier this year, UK registered charity the Music Venue Trust also highlighted the grim reality at the grassroot level, in its annual report. According to the report, in the course of 2023 itself, it had registered a loss of 125 venues with a capacity to host about 300 people. It said that such venues had either been driven out of business or stopped hosting gigs. The Pandemic hit the industry hard, with repercussions that are still being felt.

 

Alcohol is uncool

 

Alcohol duties, restriction on time, the noise pollution activism kicked off by people living in city centres, soaring rents, energy costs, sky high rentals of most commercial spaces together makes it possible only for corporate backed entertainment spaces to survive.

 

A cursorial look at social media will show the rise of the no-alcohol movement. Sober bars are a reality at many places in the US already, with Gen Z across the globe declaring alcohol is unfashionable. Earlier this year in March, market intelligence agency Mintel conducted a research delving into the lifestyle and drinking patterns of Gen Z in Britain.

 

The findings suggested that 36% of young adults aged 18-25 most commonly socialize by going to pubs and bars with their friends. However, the study also said that around one third of people aged 18-25 do not drink alcohol at all. The hashtag sobercurious has over 768k posts on Instagram, while the #sobercuriousmovement has roughly over 48k.

 

With the night industry typically deriving its revenues from the sale of alcohol, the sales hit are another factor in the clubs closing down.

 

Concerns about crime, limited transport options available late at night, online work culture, shift timings have all contributed to the crisis, especially in London with notoriously high cost of living. However, creative efforts by some in the industry like “temporary or meanwhile” spaces are out to revive the scene. Drumsheds, a large nightclub, currently operates out of a former Ikea store site in Tottenham, North London.

 

The club has creatively repurposed the unused store furniture into a venue and hosts gigs by well-known artistes. But it’s an exception rather than a reflection of things turning around.

 

Unless there is a sudden and significant intervention by either the government, the economy, the messy joy, the magic, the former glory of London’s once buzzing nightlife will soon be in the past.