Nightclubs on the brink as clean-living Gen Zs ditch scene

People born after 1997 drink approximately 20pc less than those before, and say that they’re not interested in taking drugs – Infernos

Nightclubs are being forced to close across the country as health-conscious Gen Zers stay at home.

People born after 1997 drink approximately 20pc less than those before, and say that they’re not interested in taking drugs.

Just one in six of 16 to 24-year-olds took drugs between March 2022 and March 2023, opposed to the third of Gen X students who experimented with hard substances in the 1990s.

The new attitude, coupled with a cost of living crisis that leaves many younger generations unable to afford a party lifestyle, is having a knock-on effect on the nighttime economy.

Major nightclub chain Rekom, which runs club brands Atik and Pryzm, has gone into administration, closing 17 venues at the cost of nearly 500 jobs.

Clubs in Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Watford as well as those in Dartford, Romford, Windsor and Wrexham will close.

Other sites have been sold, the company said, saving approximately 500 other jobs.

Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, a nightlife advocacy group, said that there had been a shift in young people’s habits, especially away from midweek clubbing.

He said: “There’s a culmination of issues. Without a doubt there’s somewhat of a change of habit. There’s a lack of stability in the market at the moment. I’ve definitely seen midweek sessions drop, with students not as prevalent.”

Peter Marks, Chairman of Rekom UK said: “This outcome follows an extremely difficult period for the late-night sector, thanks to the combination of the cost-of-living crisis hitting younger generations and students particularly hard, as well as the rising National Living Wage alongside increased business rates and costs of operating.

“Whilst we still recognise there are continued challenges facing the late-night sector, we can now look to the future with optimism.”

The Atiks in Gloucester, Hull, Oxford, and Tamworth, and the Pryzms in Brighton, Bristol and Kingston will remain open.

The nighttime economy, which includes bars and nightclubs, contributed £93.7bn to the UK economy in 2023, down from £116.1bn in 2019, according to the Night Time Economy Report.

The industry struggled to recover from its pandemic-enforced hiatus, and other pressures have included rises in the National Living Wage, which will increase again from £10.42 to £11.44 from April and rising hospitality costs.

James Levett, a 28-year-old DJ who worked in the clubs in Nottingham and Birmingham, told the BBC that the closures were “hugely upsetting” and that he would lose work as a result.

He said: “To see all that go and be taken away from you, you question whether you’ll be able to get out there performing in front of 2,000 people again. Nobody wanted to see it go. I’ve lost an extreme amount of work following the announcement. It’s hugely upsetting for myself and everyone who worked there.”

The nighttime economy, which includes bars and nightclubs, contributed £93.7bn to the UK economy in 2023 – Emily Macinnes/Bloomberg

More than half of London’s LGBTQ+ venues shut their doors between 2006 and 2022, with numbers dropping from 125 to just 50 across the capital.

In August 2023, a report from CGA Neilson found that 31pc of clubs in the country had been forced to close their doors permanently between June 2020 and June 2023.

Clubs in the midlands and North had been hardest hit, the report noted.

In July 2022 a survey by dance music platform Keep Hush found that just 25pc of Gen Zs were interested in going out, while 13pc of Millennials would consider a night out.

The pandemic brought forward clubbers’ “retirement”, making it so that more now prefer to stay in, the report said.

Other reasons that Gen Z are choosing to go out less included that they “couldn’t convince mates” and that as a result of becoming more health conscious, they were less interested in drinking and taking recreational drugs.

One 24-year-old living in London said: “Most of us are only in the office two or three days a week, and I tend to drink only Friday and Saturday and sometimes Thursday. It is just generally better for my health.”

She added that Gen Zers were living more regimented lifestyles as a result of changes they made during the pandemic, meaning that they went out less often.

“It probably started in lockdown. We all became much more conscious of our health, and lots of us are much healthier.”

Freddy Masters, co-founder of Keep Hush, said that while he is seeing a post-pandemic return of demand from younger clubbers, nightlife tastes have changed.

He said: “Tastes in nightlife seem to have shifted, with a big focus on unique experiences. We think people are likely to either attend free or cheap community-driven events, or large scale experiences that they’d save up for (and go with a big group) such as festivals and high production events.”

Mr Masters said that the middle market events were struggling as a result of a higher cost of living and a break in the habit of going out every weekend.

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