After more than half a year of advocating for increased nightlife aid amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) closed out 2020 warning that numerous clubs faced “extinction.” The organization has followed up with a more specific prediction, estimating that 81% of U.K. nightlife establishments will not survive past February.
As with their previous predictions, the NTIA based their findings on the results of a survey. The same questionnaire determined that 88% of participating nightclubs were delinquent on rent by over two months and 86% have been forced to lay off staff. Of the clubs surveyed, only 46% had received some form of government aid.
“The failure so far of the U.K. Government to recognize the devastating impact of their actions on this sector is a tragedy for U.K. Culture,” said NTIA CEO Michael Kill. “Nightclubs and late night venues have been closed since March, with many suggesting they will not survive past the end of February.”
“The facts stand that nightclubs/late night venues have been given limited, and in many cases hugely disproportionate support outside of furlough for the year they have been closed and suffered extreme financial hardship for over 11 months, with many seeing the end of February as the last stand for their future,” Kill continued. “We are on the cusp of losing a cultural institution, the government has ignored the sector and failed to recognize its economic and cultural value.”
U.K. nightlife employers, employees, freelancers and consumers are encouraged to participate in the ongoing All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Night-Time Economy survey via the NTIA website.
Image credit: Alexander Popov
