When a tourist visiting London asked a Reddit user what there was to do between midnight and 6am, the answer was disappointing. He could book a hotel room, sit in a McDonald’s, or “head to Downing Street and scream from the top all night.” of your lungs. ”
Conspicuous by its absence was a long list of late night clubs, bars and restaurants where revelers could dance and enjoy the night away.
More than 1,000 venues have closed in the capital over the past three years, and some of London’s most famous venues are now under threat.
The owner of London nightclub Heaven, once frequented by Freddie Mercury and Boy George, has warned that the club is at risk of closing due to soaring rents. More than half of his LGBTQ+ establishments in the capital closed between his 2006 and his 2022.
Like the rest of the city, London’s nighttime economy has been hit by a flurry of problems since the pandemic shutdown decimated the nighttime economy sector. This is due to rising utility costs and rent, as well as Gen Z’s shift away from alcohol.
According to the Night-Time Industry Association (NTIA), an average of two nightclubs closed every week across the UK between March 2020 and December 2023.
But while London’s decline in night lights is not unique, it has become a political flashpoint after Sadiq Khan pledged to bring them back.
Amy Lamme, London’s £120,000-a-year “night czar”, has been tasked with protecting and reviving the night-time economy since 2016. Critics say she has achieved little more than kind words.
In recent weeks, people have been sharing photos of empty London streets and venues on X, formerly known as Twitter, using the hashtag #LameLondon.
One user wrote: “I live in Soho and I don’t know of any pubs where you can drink after 10:30pm on weekdays.”
Another post, with a sign saying “No outdoor drinking after 9.30pm”, said: “Nightlife in London is virtually non-existent. We’re nosy, we like to kill people, we’re curtains… This is a country of people who move twitchily.”
Both Mr. Khan and Mr. Lame defended their records. In a post on Sunday’s X, the mayor wrote that London leads the world in 24-hour policies.
But soon a fact-checking memo emerged warning that “contrary to the Mayor’s claims, London’s nightlife is in decline”.
NTIA Chief Executive Michael Kill said: “There is a disconnect between how Londoners see it and how the Mayor sees it. It is clear that at the moment many people are finding it difficult to access food and other services after 11pm.”
Andrew Bough, Conservative councilor for City Hall, said in a recent online Q&A: “He has achieved what no previous mayor has ever done: he has made nightlife in central London boring. “It’s true.”
Boff also criticized the “small fortune” spent on Lame, claiming Lame had failed to prevent the club from closing “with a force that would have made Blitz blush”.