Lockdown diaries: London’s night czar Amy Lamé

Amy Lamé was appointed the UK’s first night czar in 2016 to champion London at night, including safeguarding venues across the city. She is also a nightclub promoter and DJ, radio presenter and LGBTQ+ activist. She shares a day in late October working to support the night-time economy under new lockdown restrictions, with an evening stroll in place of a club night session. I’m in Kings Cross, and feel so lucky to live where I do, in the middle of so much life and activity. I’ve lived in London since 1992, and the capital’s hustle and bustle has been a familiar soundtrack to my life, but since the lockdown its volume has been turned right down. The coronavirus has had a devastating effect on London, especially the night-time economy. The restrictions that have been brought in mean I’m doing my desk-based work from home, helping those night-time businesses which aren’t able to simply tell their staff to work remotely. Today, like most days in the past seven months, my diary is packed with Zoom and Skype calls with colleagues, building owners and stakeholder groups which are desperately trying to work together to keep a variety of venues afloat. I’ve spoken to countless businesses about the difficulties that they’re facing – rising rent arrears, staff costs, suppliers fees, the list goes on. The government’s support schemes, while helpful for some, haven’t been open to all businesses equally, and that has left venues in need of urgent help to ensure they don’t face permanent closure. Sadly, the need for tier two restrictions is another huge blow to London’s hospitality and nightlife economy. But with the huge failures of the government’s test and trace system there was no choice but to take action to stop the spread of the virus and save lives. It has been repeatedly shown that it is better to act early than to act too late – which would cost more lives and damage more livelihoods. This is the most precarious period for business that we have ever faced. In the afternoon I chair an online roundtable with hospitality venue owners, business leaders and local authorities to look at how we can continue championing and lobbying for the support the sector needs. My team and I are doing all we can to support businesses with the mayor’s £2.3m emergency fund, helping some of the most at-risk small businesses within the night-time, culture and creative industries. So far, 11 LGBTQ+ venues in London have received funding, and 141 grass-roots music venues have received support and guidance to deal with the impact of Covid-19 – and we still have more funding to be awarded in the coming months. I am more determined and passionate than ever to stand up for London’s night-time businesses. The changes announced by government this week are an improvement to the flawed and narrow Job Support Scheme previously announced, but these should have been in place from the start and are just a sticking-plaster solution that still fails to match the true scale of the problem. The mayor and I have made it clear that it’s absolutely essential that ministers come forward with an emergency package of financial support to help the thousands of bars, restaurants and venues in real need across the capital and prevent thousands more Londoners losing their jobs. We are also calling to ditch the curfew rule. Immediately scrapping it would allow more sittings in restaurants, bars and venues throughout the evening, helping with cashflow at a time when venues need all the support they can get. For me, the impact of these restrictions is not just professional, it’s personal. As the sun sets, I think about how much I love going out in our city. I desperately miss my club night, Duckie, which celebrates 25 years next month. As I take a stroll around my neighbourhood, I am reminded how beautiful London is at night and how our night-time culture is such an important part of London’s foundations. Night-time venues are not just a collection of buildings – they are “home” for so many vibrant and diverse communities. They bring people together, create a sense of belonging and pride and contribute billions of pounds to our economy. There is no doubt that our city’s night-time businesses will play a vital role in our social and economic recovery from this pandemic, and it’s our duty to make sure they are still in business to be able to do so.