In mid-July 2022, the Vienna city government department of economics, culture and youth, funded the Vienna Club Commission (VCC), collectively strengthening its impact on nighttime ecosystems. The VCC pilot project began in 2020 and has now progressed into a fully supported initiative with a 5-10 year plan, and funding of 300,000 € per year.

What does a Club Commission or Nighttime Advocacy Office do?

The key aim of the Club Commission is to strengthen and empower the nighttime communities, providing information and mediation between different venues, residents and organisations whilst ensuring that clubs are valued as socially and culturally significant to the city’s foundation.

Global nighttime advocacy offices are on the rise. The number of cities with nighttime advocacy organisations has increased by 30% in the last year. Check the Nighttime.org advocacy map for more information on the movement.

In the press conference last Thursday 15th, Veronica Kaup-Hasler, City Councilor for Culture and Science stated:  “I am pleased that the VCC has now started its work as a bridge between clubs and the city and as a firmly anchored contact and service point.” 

VibeLab is consulting the newly funded Vienna Club Commission.

Many new nighttime office models are based on the experiences developed in Berlin. For example, decentralised decision-making, community-led initiatives and non-hierarchal structures have proven to be a successful communication framework, over the last 20 years in Berlin — a city where clubs now share the same rights as cultural institutions. 

VibeLab’s co-founder Lutz Leichsenring has now been appointed the “Organisation Development Consultant”, for Vienna Club Commission, sharing knowledge and experience about nighttime advocacy.

What is the structure?

The overall concept submitted is based on three core points:

*In-depth Analysis of the Club and Event Scene in Community Sessions.

As a publicly transparent dialogue platform, the Vienna Club Commission sessions, which take place every three months, serve to present the activities and goals of the Vienna Club Commission to anyone in the community who wants to attend as well as target groups in the club scene, to encourage collaboration and the sharing of ideas.

At each VCC session, three focus groups are formed on specific projects, and the lead manager of the respective focus group is chosen by all those present. Information, needs and challenges, ideas and solutions are discussed in a structured manner, considering the various concerns.

•Organizational development and consulting 

With Lutz Leichsenring as an organisational development consultant, the Vienna Club Commission has the expertise of one VibeLabs internationally renowned services to guide and advise in a strategic partnership. 

• Independence of the team members 

In the focus groups, the Viena Club Commission receives direct input from the club and event scene. However, the core team consists of people without economic interests in the club scene, removing bias and guaranteeing neutrality and objectivity in the Vienna Club Commission services.

Quotes:

Quote for Lutz- “It’s an honour to support Vienna in the next steps of developing and supporting the club scene and to share the advanced learnings that we have experienced through chairing the Berlin Club Commission and founding VibeLab. Please be in touch if any other cities are interested in taking their nighttime office to the next level.”

The respective focus group projects are now going into the second round. This regular exchange of practical experience from the club and event sector provides the essential basis for the successful work of the Vienna Club Commission. To create utopias for unique club and event experiences in Vienna or to support the actions of the individual actors in the best possible way and that, in harmony with the city dwellers, prefer peace and quiet – that is the actively lived self-commitment of the VCC team.« Martina Brunner, co-management, content management, VCC

Focus Group Themes

The Safer Party – Safer Nightlife.
This focus group spent a quarter developing a survey on safety in Vienna’s nightlife scenes, which will be launched at the beginning of 2023. The focus groups addressed the first steps necessary to provide young people with low-threshold, consumption-free and music-related spaces.

Funding
The VCC website highlights current funding opportunities for club operators, organisers and cultural workers and the targeted focus groups relay this information effectively and support with applications.

Sustainability
Looking at event sustainability in terms of economic and ecological balance.

Following a successful pilot project, the new service and agency of the City of Vienna, the Vienna Club Commission, will now also become a permanent institution and will not only enable Vienna to get along better at night but will also position Austria’s largest city internationally and network. At this point, we thank the responsible city councillors and the respective club and event community for their commitment and support. Thomas Heher, co-management, commercial management, VCC

The post Vienna’s city government supports Vienna Club Commission, boosting the city’s nighttime industries. appeared first on NIGHTTIME.ORG.

Creative Footprint is a research project that investigates creative spaces and communities to examine and emphasise the cultural value and impact that music and nightlife have on the city. (CFP) is registering participants to take part in upcoming focus groups aimed at promoters, collectives and folks that run music and nightlife spaces in Montréal.

The focus groups are open to the Montréal nightlife communities to register and will take place both online and in-person

Register your interest in Creative Footprint Montréal

This study is the first of its kind in Montreal and in Canada, following suit of cities including Berlin, New York, Tokyo and Stockholm, and it will be a vital tool for the implementation of the city’s nightlife strategy. At its core, the objective of Creative Footprint is to support the development of 24-hour cities that are world-renowned for their vibrancy, diversity, safety and access to amenities throughout the day and night. 

What is Creative Footprint?

Creative Footprint (CFP) is a project created and conducted by nighttime consultancy agency VibeLab. Creative Footprint’s methodology was developed by Lutz Leichsenring, in partnership with Harvard University and PennPraxis. PennPraxis is the centre for applied research, professional practice, and community engagement at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design

The methodology goes beyond economic impact, by prioritising original content, interdisciplinary connections and multi-purpose spaces that foster talent,  strengthen communities and make our cities unique. The resulting report includes detailed data, observations from community leaders, a final score, and recommendations for the city. 

Read other CFP reports

Why Montréal?

Montréal’s nightlife scene’s sustained commitment, enthusiasm and resilience are being recognised by the city of Montréal for the benefit that nightlife communities bring to the local culture and economies, thanks to  MTL 24/24 a non-profit organisation that provides a framework for Montréal’s nightlife. 

 In May this year (2022), the mayor of  Montréal, Mayor Valérie Plante, announced a roadmap to regenerate Montréal’s nightlife, that acknowledges the importance and relevance of music culture. 

“There are people who want to sleep and there are those who want to party. Parties are part of Montréal’s DNA… [and] nightlife is an important economic driver for the metropolis.” —Montréal’s Mayor Valérie 

Part of the plan features a pilot project that would extend the opening hours of some venues to test the effectiveness of operating continuously in designated zones. Followed by Montréal’s first and longest dance party at the Société des Arts Technologiques. NONSTOP 24/24 was the first of a series of all-night nightlife events approved by the city to gather data about allowing venues to operate past 3 a.m, initiated by  MTL 24/24 

“The city’s action plan provides a clear timetable that should lead to the adoption of a nightlife policy next summer, redefining the operational framework for nightlife activities,” —General Manager of MTL 24/24, Mathieu Grondin

Why gather data on nightlife?  

Creative Footprint solidifies channels of communication between grassroots creatives and policymakers. Gathering data on life at night and creative communities will provide tangible information to empower nightlife communities.  

“We are now seeing the benefits of our mission to measure the unmeasured things – things we know are important to our creative communities. Communities that have never had their real nature in data form before and we can use this deep knowledge as a basis for action.”  —Michael Fichman, CFP Senior Data Scientist, PennPraxis.

There are currently three more cities in the pipeline for the CFP. The CFP initiative has earned recognition as a valuable tool for developing and improving nightlife policies. Creative ecosystems are ever-changing and developing, following Covid-19’s impact on creative communities, cities need to keep an open dialogue with their creatives, and CFP helps to shed light on organisations that need support. 

Next steps

★ Register your interest in Creative Footprint Montréal

★ Read other CFP reports here

★ Share the sign-up form and banner with your creative networks in Montréal

★ The CFP founders and data scientists are available to be interviewed:

• Lutz Leichsenring, Co-founder of VibeLab 
• Michael Fichman, Senior Data Scientist, PennPraxis at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design
• Mathieu Grondin, General Manager of MTL 24/24
  

★ For more information regarding the Creative Footprint Report and the opportunity to have the mapping research project conducted in your city, contact lutz@vibe-lab.org

The post Research for Creative Footprint Montréal is about to commence appeared first on NIGHTTIME.ORG.

You might have seen cool kids hanging out at shabby bars or pubs lately – and you are not alone. Be it because of hype, part of what is usually described as gentrification, or a necessary alternative to expensive nights due to staggering inflation, are dive bars experiencing a revival?

The urban dictionary defines a dive bar as “a well-worn, unglamorous bar, often serving a cheap, simple selection of drinks to a regular clientele. The term can describe anything from a comfortable-but-basic neighbourhood pub to the nastiest swill-slinging hole.” The colloquial use of the word dive to describe a “drinking den” or “other disreputable place of the resort” comes from the fact that these types of establishments were originally housed in cellars or basements, into which “frequenters may ‘dive’ without observation”, according to a citation of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Let’s look at some concrete cases in three big urban areas across the globe.

New York

In February of this year, a local news outlet featured an interview with the owner of the Pearl River Hotel in New York State, which he does not consider a dive bar himself, although he appears to be thankful for the latest rising interest among visitors. This was not the first time a news outlet in New York reports about dive bars. In fact, this has been a recurring topic in The New York Times, at least until 2021. 

The common thread is apparently how puzzling it can be for both owners and journalists in the sense of why would younger people nowadays choose such places. However, the opposite also exists: visitors who do not understand the trend and have different expectations when told it is supposed to be a “cool” place – see this funny comment from a dive bar owner to a 1-star review on Yelp.

Berlin

The southeast district of Neukölln, known as a melting pot and home for many creative workers, is arguably the area where there is a higher concentration of such bars and pubs becoming popular. In Schillerkiez, the latest neighbourhood to undergo a similar transformation comparable to Prenzlauer Berg years before, places like the former Syndikat are swiftly being replaced by fine dining restaurants and bars serving natural wine or craft beer. 

The bar Bechereck, on the contrary, in its privileged corner with a big terrace caters to those who still seem to prefer the real deal – the so-called Berliner “Kneipe”, serving mainly different homemade liquors, cheap long drinks and local draft beer. Other comparable examples in the surroundings are Warthe-Eck (in Warthestraße) and Stammtisch (in Weserstraße). Usually, it is allowed to smoke inside and it is common to find a slot machine (or two), as well as pool tables. Random music is often part of the appeal, just like the unmatching furniture.

Sydney

In order to confront the recent news on Time Out listing the best dive bars in Sydney and to compare the situation there with Berlin, we conducted a short interview with Nicolas Tsirimokos** who is Australian and lived several years in Sydney before relocating to Berlin 10 years ago. When referring to notable examples of dive pubs like The Marrickville Hotel and the Unicorn Hotel, he tells us that:

“The traditional Aussie pub has forever been a part of our culture, for people of all ages. It’s the place you meet your friends for lunch or your colleagues for a beer after work. For nearly as long as I can remember there has been a trend of rich men in the restaurant and entertainment business buying run-down or historical pubs and transforming them into more glamorous, hip establishments with prices to match. 

Similarly, many traditional pubs have retained their classic look and feel but added on fancy food options or specialise in things like Korean chicken or dumplings for example. Whilst the food is obviously delicious – it’s often at a particularly lavish price point. You have to ask yourself, is this what pub and bar culture are all about? Shouldn’t a local pub serve the whole community? 

Obviously, some pubs still operate like this, but I have been to a few in areas like Newtown, where actually I lived for a long time when some were still relatively hidden gems and meanwhile have changed completely.”

The concluding remarks are, therefore: 

• Can this influx of younger and wealthier generations (often referred to as yuppies or young urban professionals) help these bars and pubs survive? 

• Or are these instead losing their authentic character, by adapting their offer to what their new demand expects versus the initial customers?

For more detailed information about the nightlife vibrancy of these cities, read the Creative Footprint reports on Berlin and New York, as well as Sydney’s “Future Proofing” Report by VibeLab Asia Pacific.

**Nicolas Tsirimokos (a.k.a. artist Nicolas Sàvva) has over 10 years of experience in music strategy, curation and artist relations at companies like SoundCloud and Beatport. He enjoys educating the creator community on how to build and grow their careers. He also works as a composer and sound artist and has scored works for the Stuttgart Ballet and The Czech National Ballet. Moreover, he has presented Face The Music with Nicky Böhm every month on Refuge Worldwide: showcasing, amplifying and celebrating intersectional stories from voices across the music industry.

The post Diving into the dive bars and pubs of New York, Berlin & Sydney appeared first on NIGHTTIME.ORG.

Revenue distribution efforts are a central topic within club culture. Bottom-up initiatives as collective and urgent responses to forced inactivity in difficult times, like online crowdfunding events (see #UnitedWeStream by VibeLab co-founder Lutz Leichsenring during the pandemic outbreak and donations for the Ukrainian creative scene under war since the Russian invasion, just when Kyiv’s club culture was booming) are some noble examples.

The common argument for most of these campaigns collecting donations is strong: democratic empowerment. In other words, once living expenses are covered, sharing the surplus or giving it back to the community – those who paid in the first place – is highly expected.

Likewise, the idea behind the service Aslice recently launched by DJ and producer DVS1 (who had previously argued that festivals were jeopardizing club culture) is simple: “producers get paid when DJs play their music at gigs”. The software calculates the fair share to be allocated by DJs to creators of those music tracks through machine learning, by uploading the set playlist onto their system (5% of the gig fee is their suggested standard).

The good: it is nowadays possible for some DJs and producers like him to live exclusively with a salary from playing at gigs. The bad: rights owners have barely been able to monetize much of their work since illegal file-sharing exploded with the appearance of the internet. Paid streaming and download alternatives, mostly based on subscription or pay-as-you-want models, have slightly improved the situation since the 2010s – in 2015, digital revenue surpassed physical for the first time in global music sales according to the IFPI Report of the same year. 

As long as the pay gap exists, it is expected that the discussion around the increased responsibilities from the growing professionalization and commercialization of club culture will continue to have momentum.

Watch the video where DVS1 talks about the effect of festivals on club culture

The post <strong>Sharing is caring: responsible nighttime revenue distribution</strong> appeared first on NIGHTTIME.ORG.

An article published in rbb on 5th of April reports an assault that took place over the weekend in Kreuzberg, Berlin. Danny, a queer person who left his home country exactly five years ago to find a sense of security and freedom was attacked in broad daylight in the middle of the city.

Many people who have heard the event or Danny has been in contact with were very surprised to hear that such incidents take place in Berlin. To some people though, it is not surprising at all. Such incidents happen to them or to their friends almost every day. “In the last year I heard of so many incidents that happened to my friends or to people in my surrounding and now to me” Danny says. There is a gap in the perception of violence that is prevalent in our cities.

Violence in our cities, especially towards marginalised communities is not an isolated event, it is also not location specific. Bastian Finke from the gay anti-violence project Maneo says that almost every day attacks on LGBTI are being reported. Although the number of unreported incidents are estimated to be around 80 to 90 per cent. Even in the cases that do get reported at the end, it is highly unlikely for any real action to take place. Without video evidence or witness statements the proceedings are usually dropped. Even with proper evidence cases similar to this are not pursued so much. Knowing how the process unfolds from his friends Daniel decided to take matters into his own hands and decided to film his attackers and contact the police. 

On a Saturday afternoon, in the middle of one of the most crowded corners of Berlin, nobody came to offer their help to him. On the contrary, people from shops around rushed out to help the attackers, he recalls. Some who eventually came to help were threatened by the attackers. When the police arrived, the attackers laughed at Daniel, “nothing can happen to us” they told him. A 30-year-old suspect in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene was arrested and taken into police custody before being released. 

Bastian Finke notes that Kreuzberg, North Neukölln, Mitte and Schöneberg have the highest number of attacks against LGBTI, but he also underlines that these are only the cases that are reported. “Wherever LGBTI people become visible, they also run a great risk of being attacked”. On March 31, 2022 not so long ago the Trans Day of Visibility was celebrated. Whilst it is a step further to celebrate Trans Visibility and expand the conversation a big criticism from the trans community exists as well. A post on instagram on this day goes “Trans day of don’t perceive me if you won’t protect me”, when a group has visibility without security accommodating it, they put themselves into danger. Visibility without proper framework conditions falls short in offering legitimate solutions to marginalised groups.

Next to visibility we also have to talk about allyship. A trans woman from the Middle East who is a resident of Berlin also noted that in the last 6 months she has been attacked 3 times, mostly in Kreuzberg and Neukölln. All of these incidents took place in broad daylight in crowded places and very little help came from by-standers. How to be an active bystander and ally, offering help in situations like these is also a very important conversation that needs to happen more seriously. 

Amongst the residents of Berlin a big group of people came here to get a sense of belonging and feel safe. Daniel is one of them. He was threatened with death in his country of origin because of his sexuality and religious beliefs. He came to Berlin precisely to get away from this and is now facing similar situations in Berlin. He is asking himself “did it happen because of my jacket or painted fingernails? Shall I now be careful of what I wear?”

Daniel was taken to the hospital with bruises on his head and was released some hours later. He is adamant in pursuing his case “I will not put up with it, not for me and not for anyone else. It’s not easy to be gay. Other people have paved the way for us. Well I have to do mine.”.

This Friday the 8th of April VibeLab is hosting a panel on NTIA’s Nighttime Economy Summit focusing on global nighttime safety and wellbeing. In this event citywide crime prevention and urban safety strategies will be discussed. The policies and methods that have been used so far to make our cities safer, e.g. prohibition, policing or stronger security measures, have proved themselves to be ineffective. We need to focus on sustainable urban development that takes wellbeing and inclusion into consideration.

Read the full article here.

The post Safety in Our Cities appeared first on NIGHTTIME.ORG.

The NTIA summit features over 100 speakers with panels and workshops that feature innovators and entrepreneurs from the global nighttime sector.

VibeLab’s Global Cities After Dark is hosting a stage on day two with four international panels that bring to the fore pioneering discussions surrounding creative communities and nightlife.

Friday 8th April

Panel 1: Rising up from the crisis. Nighttime recovery for cities, communities, and the industry.

Time: 10.30- 11.15 BST

The nighttime industries have been hit by pandemic-related restrictions on all levels, with dire consequences for the whole nightlife ecosystem and the in a broad sense the social, cultural, and economic life of cities and the people living in them. Now that the pandemic is somewhat under control, we want to talk about the recovery process for cities, communities, and the industry.

Moderator: Michael Kill (NTIA)
Helen Sildna (Director Tallinn Music Week)
Alessio Koliulis (The Bartlett Development Planning Unit)
Meike LeCoultre (Policy Advisor Arts & Culture for the City of Amsterdam)
David Lezhava (Act4culture)

Panel 2: Changing the narrative around the globe for nighttime safety & wellbeing

Time: 11.30 – 12.15

There is an expanding understanding that cities are not made safer through policies that involve prohibition, policing, or stronger security measures, but through a focus on sustainable urban development that takes into consideration wellbeing and inclusion. However, the dialogue between urban planners, decision-makers, and policymakers with the collectives and promoters who are actively organising nighttime activities are not happening enough. This panel brings together Juma Assiago from the UN-Habitat Safer Cities program, with leaders in community and nightlife initiatives whose initiatives and events foster ideals of diversity, inclusion, safety, and representation that are historically at the heart of contemporary nightlife and club scenes. The panel will explore approaches to community safety and wellbeing at night and highlight how interdisciplinary global and local spheres across various disciplines can connect better.

Moderator: Lutz (VibeLab)
Lu Ghebremariam (Club Commission)
Steven Braines (He She They)
Juma Assiago (Safer Cities Program at UN-Habitat)

Panel 3: The future of creative space ownership in the age of property speculations and sky rocking rents.

Time: 12.30 -13.15

People living in cities are facing drastic rent escalations, as neighborhood gentrification follows creative communities across the globe. Whilst property developers bask in the glory of increasing revenue in neglected or up-and-coming areas, a progressive land ownership movement that explores equitable alternatives to the current system is now taking hold. This panel explores different perspectives on the protection of creative spaces and communities and highlights pioneering avenues for doing so.

Moderator: –
Dr Anna Marazuela Kim (Futurecity)
Pedro Jardim (Land Purpose Forum)
Ella Overkleeft Trans (Europe Halles)

Panel 4: How to become a nightlife advocate. Interactive session hosted by VibeLab. Learn the ropes from aspiring and established advocates.

Time: 13.30 – 14.15

Since 2001, more than sixty cities have established nighttime commissions or individual leaders who act as innovators and strategic thinkers to ensure safety, cultural vibrancy, and economic development at night. But how does one get into this position and why do cities need them? How to remain informed in the role?

Moderator: Mirik Milan (VibeLab)
Holly Lester (Free the Night)
Sunil Sharpe (Give Us the Night)
Lutz Leichsenring (VibeLab)
Mathieu Grondin (Montréal 24/24)

Get tickets here!

Friday 8th April

The post NTIA‘s Nighttime Economy Summit is this week in Bristol   appeared first on NIGHTTIME.ORG.

Disco is the sound that cities built; The Quartz article re acknowledges the subcultures that built the sound of disco, the spaces, the lifestyles’ that disco celebrated and the reminds us that cities shape culture for years to come.

“Perhaps the biggest test of cities’ cultural clout was the pandemic, when lockdowns, travel restrictions, and “remote” living inspired a good deal of speculation about changing cultural trends, and where the identity of cities would land. Fortunately, any obituaries on the cultural influence of urban centres appear to have been premature, which means that many of the ingredients that helped disco thrive—escapism, inclusivity, and physical togetherness—may be set up to once again inform the next musical phenomenon.”

Read the full article here

The post How Cities Shaped The Music And Culture Of Disco appeared first on NIGHTTIME.ORG.

The global music and nighttime communities have come together to support Ukraine, following Russia’s invasion of the country on 24th Feb. We have gathered some useful resources from the nighttime community, regarding ways to support Ukraine

Resources

• A verified list of foundations to help Ukraine
  
• A spreadsheet of Ukraine artists and labels to buy music from and support
  
• Music Export Ukraine has shared a document with ways the music industry can support the crisis
  
• Latvian hardware company Erica Synths is donating 100 percent of sales from various instruments—including Black Digital Noise, Sequential Switch II and Snazzy FX—to the Ukrainian relief effort. Find out more here
  
• Read the article from DJ mag regarding compilations and music releases that are donating profits to Ukraine,
  
• You can also support Ukrainian journalists on the ground and amplify their voices by getting your information directly from national media sources, some of which are in English. We recommend Kyiv Post, the Kyiv Independent, The New Voice of Ukraine and Ukraine World.

The post Resources to Support Ukraine appeared first on NIGHTTIME.ORG.

UCL Urban Laboratory has published Urban Pamphleteer #9, on the re-imagination of night-time cities by migrant communities through the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The advance of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the imposition of unprecedented emergency measures: night-time curfews, the closure of after-dark venues, and laws designed to prevent nocturnal activities and control the movement of populations.

Across Europe, the pandemic has coincided with multiple political crises, amounting to the greatest set of restrictions on public life since the mid-twentieth century.

Emergency measures have interrupted the growth of policy initiatives supporting night-time urban cultures in many European cities. The issue engages perspectives from nightlife cultural organisers and associations, artists, industry representatives, policymakers, scholars and others who share their experiences and ideas on the future of night spaces.

Urban Pamphleteer is a publication series produced in collaboration between UCL Urban Laboratory and Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. Each issue addresses a theme and set of questions that have recently surfaced in urban debate, framing contemporary challenges historically, and bringing together a diversity of text and visual contributions, written in an accessible way, to address audiences who are affected by the topics raised and/or are in a position to enact change.

The digital version of Urban Pamphleteer #9 is available through the link below. If you would like to buy copies of the print publication, these are also now available to order. For further information. please email urbanlaboratory@ucl.ac.uk.


Authors

The contributions include:
Robbie Kitt, Ireland, Dancing and Give Us the Night
Kuldip Singh and Yusu Yassin Dualeh, It’s Gonna Be Tonight
Amy Lamé, Interviewed by Ben Campkin
Rut Blees Luxemburg, Londonium
Ben Walters, Homemade Mutant Hope Machines
Len Évora, Summer Evenings
Rema Hamid, On Night-bound Alienation
Ana Naomi de Sousa, Night Walking in Lisbon During the Pandemic
Thys Boer and Julian Schaap, Reimagining Rotterdam’s Nightlife
José Manuel Vilalonga, Controlling Police Activity in a Pandemic Context
Jola Zych, Nite
Laura-Solmaz Litschel and Jola Zych, The Augmented City: Nocturnal Platform Labour Under Covid-19 Conditions
Hunnid22, Zing Ting
Ragazza, Night-time Sex Work Under Covid-19
Jorge da Veiga and Seger Kersbergen, Going Out is a Need
Joshua Idehen, Began in Fabric
VibeLab, Nighttime.org

Read the scanned copy here

More info here

The post Urban Pamphleteer #9 – Reimagining the Night appeared first on NIGHTTIME.ORG.

Following the protests in Brussels, cultural institutions and movie theatres are now able to re-open their doors.

In Brussels, thousands of workers from the creative sector joined together last Sunday to protest the government’s decision to close down the country’s cultural life to limit the spread of the surging Omicron variant.

Waving posters reading “The show must go on” or “No culture, no future,” a crowd of about 5,000 demonstrated peacefully despite the pouring rain, accusing the government of unfairly targeting the culture industry with new virus restrictions.

Under the measures, which took effect Sunday, events like Christmas markets are allowed to continue, despite their boisterous, chaotic gluhwein or mulled wine parties, and restaurants and bars are allowed to stay open with some new restrictions.

Even the scientific committee advising the Belgian government had not asked for the culture industry closures, leaving virologist Marc Van Ranst to ponder that in Belgium “gluhwein beat culture.”

Scores of movie theatres and other venues disregarded the closure order, according to state broadcaster RTBF.

A brass band accompanied Sunday’s demonstration at the Mont des Arts in Brussels, the symbolic spot which spawned Belgian independence in 1830, and prominent cultural figures took to the stage to air their grievances.

Organisers urged participants to wear masks and maintain social distancing.

Under the new rules, indoor public activities are strictly limited, shopping is curtailed, and sports fans won’t be allowed into stadiums and indoor venues.

However, the Belgian government shied away from a full lockdown like that imposed in the neighbouring Netherlands for the holiday season.

After almost two years of forced closures and limited openings, the culture sector had hoped its efforts, including special air quality meters in halls, separated seats, and limited visitor capacities, would allow it to escape the brunt of the virus restrictions.

The Belgian measures come despite a steady decline in COVID-19 hospital admissions in recent weeks.

The government said the fast transmission of the Omicron variant made it necessary to take preventive measures.

Belgium has had over 2 million cases with at least 28,149 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

Read full article here  

The post Protests in Brussels: “The show must go on” appeared first on NIGHTTIME.ORG.