Twist and Shout

Good afternoon and welcome back to this afternoon's blog. Schools have now been back fully functioning for a week and we can meet one person outside who is not part of our household or social bubble. We are edging closer to the return of outdoor sports, as well as personal care and non-essential retail next month (and trust me I am in desperate need of a hair cut). Pubs and restaurants are due to reopen in the next couple of months too. This is great and will be a relief to millions of people up and down the country, however, I want to focus on an industry that has been very much left to hang and dry during this pandemic. That is the nightclub industry. Be honest, who doesn't love a good club session now and again? All we know is that nightclubs will be among the last things to return to normal. So based on that, I have three questions which I am going to answer today; Why can nightclubs not open with restaurants and other hospitality, What is being done to support the nightclub industry, Will nightclubs ever be the same again after the pandemic?

There are many similarities between nightclubs, restaurants, pubs and bars that nightclub owners have correctly identified; food, drink, a place for social gatherings and a massive source of money for the UK economy. Based on these, what are cold hard facts, there is definitely a strong case for nightclubs to be treated the same as other parts of the hospitality sector. The main difference, and the reason why nightclubs are being segregated as they are, is the reason why people go there. People go to a pub to drink. You go to a restaurant to have a meal. A bar is more typically for celebrations but tend to be organised very well. A nightclub is somewhere to go to sing, dance, let loose and more than likely have rather a lot to drink. Forget the other factors, but the more people have to drink, the less compliant they are likely to be with the guidelines. Even after saying that, I feel it is too soon for pubs and restaurants to be opening, so they should all be treated the same. The handbrake needs to be applied as this will certainly cause a spike in cases and deaths.

An even bigger question in the eyes of nightclub owners and workers is what is being done to support them during the pandemic. And the short, and very sad, answer is not a lot. A campaign group recently found that just 10% of all UK nightclubs would be able to stay in business beyond the end of this year if they can not open, or are helped by a huge injection of financial support. Since the start of the pandemic, a dozen nightclubs in London alone have already had to close their doors for the last time. If the Government allow nightclubs to die en masse, it would be a significant cultural, social and economic tragedy. Nightclubs are part of growing up, part of living freely and an experience that everyone should have the chance to have at least once during their life time. Clubs are often referred to as the most exciting aspect of the hospitality industry, and for a very good reason. If we allow them to be slowly squeezed out, then the whole of the British culture will have lost more than a right arm. And for those people who say the club life is dying, I have to wholly disagree.

So the pandemic has finished and life is back to normal (it will be one day I promise). The first evening of nightclubs reopening and there's a queue stretching a mile around the block. But when you step inside, what can you expect to find? Will nightclubs ever reopen to the capacity that we know and love them today? The fundamental reason to go to a nightclub is to have a party and not care about knocking into people on the dance floor or having a whole pint of beer tipped down your back (experience people, experience). I would argue that if a nightclub is unable to return to that level of functionality, is it actually a nightclub? Surely that would essentially make it a pub or a posh bar at best. Clubs, as I have said before, are more than somewhere you go to make friends or to have a casual pint. You visit them to make life long memories with people who are special to you. It's a massive part of growing up and it means so much to so many young people out there. Why should future generations not get the same experiences as the rest of us have had.

For the sake of being aware that my passion is turning more into a rant with each passing line, I will conclude this rather sad interlude by saying, and asking, one thing; save the clubs. Even an act as small as signing a petition for the Government to grant money will be a help. Let's keep nightclubs financially stable until the pandemic has finished and they can return to normal work. And I haven't even mentioned the sheer number of innocent people who would lose their jobs if all nightclubs had to close - that's a rant for another time.

Connor

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