7 things the Mayor's Night Czar has done in her first year

It’s been just over a year since the Mayor of London appointed Amy Lamé as London’s first Night Czar, charged with championing London’s £26 billion night-time economy.



Here are some highlights from her first year:

1. Keeping Fabric open. Amy started the job amid widespread calls to save Fabric from planned closure, after two teenagers died taking drugs in the club. She brought together Fabric’s owners, the Met Police and Islington Council for talks and the club was able to reopen.
2. Scrapping Form 696. As Chair of the London Music Board, Amy kickstarted the Met’s review of Form 696 - a risk assessment form for music events that grime and urban artists say unfairly targets them – bringing police and the music industry together for talks. In November 2017, the Met said it would scrap Form 696 and work with venues on a voluntary basis.
3. A safer London for women. Almost nine in 10 victims of sexual offences in London are women. In July 2017, Amy hosted the first Women’s Night Safety Summit to help create a Women’s Safety Charter, aimed at making the capital’s streets and venues safer for women after dark.
4. Keeping Joiners Arms site LGBT+. The number of LGBT+ venues in London plummeted from 127 in 2006 to 53 in 2017. Amy supported a landmark case to ensure the Joiners Arms in Hoxton was replaced with an LGBT+ venue, with Tower Hamlets making it a condition of planning approval.
5. Restoring the Rio Cinema. The facade of the much-loved art deco cinema in Dalston was in disrepair - but as a non-profit community facility, Rio hadn’t the funds to refurbish it. Amy recommended the cinema apply to Crowdfund London and it was awarded £40,000 for restoration.
6. A busier Electric Ballroom. The Night Czar worked with the legendary North London venue and Camden Council to increase its capacity for live music, to help mitigate the effects of a business rates rise.
7. 24-hour London. Together with the head of the Night Time Commission, Amy set out 10 principles to develop Mayor Sadiq Khan’s vision for London to become a trailblazing night-time city, competing with the likes of Berlin, Tokyo and New York.

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