As music venue closures continue to plague the British capital, the City of London has unveiled its first-ever “Nightlife Taskforce.”
Announced by London Mayor Sadiq Khan today (February 4) during a press conference at the city’s famous fabric nightclub, the initiative will see 11 industry experts meet regularly over the next six months to “assess the challenges and opportunities” facing London’s nightlife industry and “provide recommendations” to ensure its thriving future, according to a press release.
The independent committee will be chaired by fabric nightclub co-founder and director Cameron Leslie and also includes Pxssy Palace founder Nadine Noor, Colour Factory founder Nathanael Williams, Daytimers founder Provhat Rahman, Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) CEO Michael Kill, Music Venue Trust external affairs manager Sophie Brownlee, and radio DJ Lily London.
Seb Glover, the co-founder of FOLD, another heralded London club, was forced to drop out of the task force “due to other commitments,” according to a report from the Evening Standard.
Announcing the taskforce launch, Khan highlighted recent figures from the NTIA showing a 32.7 percent decline in nightclubs across the UK since 2020. London itself has lost nearly 19 percent of its clubs since March 2020, according to the NTIA.
In a press release, Khan said he believes the team’s “expertise and unparalleled knowledge garnered from years of working across a range of night-time industries will help to inform and develop our collective efforts to support nightlife.”
The nightlife taskforce will replace London’s now-defunct night czar position following Amy Lamé’s departure from the role in October 2024 after eight years.
Learn more about London’s first-ever nightlife taskforce here.
Featured image from Pexels.com.
