The Night Time Economy Summit has brought together industry leaders at Hockley Social Club, including UB40, to discuss the challenges facing venues, musicians, and nightlife businesses. While the event highlights the sector's importance, organisers say more support is needed to secure its future.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00We're hosting over 2,000 delegates here at the Nighttime Economy Summit, which is
00:05an incredible moment for Birmingham in the West Midlands. We're welcoming
00:08visitors from over 20 countries, we've got 265 speakers. Most importantly, for
00:14the next 48 hours, the eyes of the NCEA industry in the UK and Europe are on
00:19Birmingham in the West Midlands, so it's an incredible moment as a shop window to
00:23show off what we've got, but also to facilitate and enable conversations.
00:27The summit showcases Birmingham's role in the nighttime economy, but for many it
00:31also highlights the challenges facing venues and live music spaces.
00:36Yeah, compared to when we started, you know, the circuit has been decimated, you know.
00:43I mean, COVID didn't help, but before that it was going downhill anyway,
00:48you know. The whole industry has changed and, you know, that
00:54way of promoting yourself has disappeared. The decline of grassroots
00:58venues has been ongoing, with COVID only making things worse. Many in the industry
01:03believe councils and government must step in to prevent further closures.
01:08Government councils need to support the venues, they need to support and help
01:14those venues survive, you know. There was no help during COVID and so many
01:22independent places went down, went under, because there was no help, you know.
01:27You need help. Support for nightlife isn't just about saving venues. From artists and
01:32promoters to hospitality staff and suppliers, the sector plays a vital role
01:36in local economies, cultural life and communities. It isn't just the bricks and
01:42mortar of clubs and venues, there is a whole supply chain and a whole set of
01:45cultural commissioning and artistic excellence that forms part of the
01:49night-time economy, so we need to treat it with the importance, significance and
01:55contribution to our society that it provides.