Is the slow death of the ‘big night out’ an inadvertent lifeline for high streets? - Jayne Dowle

My friend’s daughter studies in Manchester and a group of us are planning a weekend visit to celebrate her mum’s birthday. We were slightly taken aback at the 19-year-old’s suggestions.

“What about floodlit indoor crazy golf?,” she said. “An escape room?” At least she didn’t suggest axe-throwing. But what’s known as ‘active socialising’ is becoming a trend. Even bingo is back in vogue, albeit with rave music.

My friends and I are hardly living wild champagne lifestyles, but we had something less active and perhaps slightly more louche in mind; dinner perhaps, followed by a few cocktails and maybe a gig or a dance.

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It seems that in our late fifties, we’re fighting against an encroaching tide. Demanding activities mothers (and fathers) were happy to leave behind when their kids grew out of complicated birthday parties are now offered up as voluntary ways in which we might enjoy ourselves. As adults.

Martini cocktails on a bar. PIC: PA Photo/iStockMartini cocktails on a bar. PIC: PA Photo/iStock
Martini cocktails on a bar. PIC: PA Photo/iStock

David McDowall, chief executive of the Stonegate group, which runs more than 4,000 UK bars, has been arguing that British socialising habits are undergoing a seismic shift.

No longer do we favour “the big night out” on a Friday or Saturday (back in the day, both, with possibly Thursday and Sunday as well). These days, we’re more likely to go out in the afternoon around 3pm and be back home getting ready for bed by 9pm.

“At Slug & Lettuce in particular, what used to be our busiest hour - 9pm to 10pm on a Saturday - is now 3pm to 4pm”, said McDowall. “The day out starts with lunch or brunch, then drinks or cocktails. By the time 8pm comes around, it is time to head home.”

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Also, young people especially are turning their backs on nightclubs and opting for sober activities such as ice cream parlours and dessert bars. Research by an alcohol education charity surveyed 5,213 young adults aged 18 to 24 over a six-year period and revealed that more young adults than ever (or at least since records began) are not drinking alcohol, rising from 14 per cent in 2017 to 21 per cent in 2023.

It follows then that even with oldies like us still propping up the bar, venues are feeling the pinch. This was already happening before Rachel Reeves’ Budget caused panic in the hospitality industry with employers’ increased National Insurance contributions, the minimum wage going up, and a reduction in business rates relief.

A recent report by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) found 31 per cent of clubs had closed between March 2020 and December 2023, an average of 10 a month.

The pandemic obviously has a lot to answer for, but it’s not the only thing to blame. The cost of living crisis obviously eats into going-out funds, so decisions are taken carefully and less frequently.

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One of my theories is that younger people – who are driving the changes – are less likely to enjoy chatting in a pub with a quiet pint, because half the time they are so engrossed in their phones, they’ve forgotten how to actually make conversation. As for watching a band in the backroom of a bar, they’d film it instead and do irritating things on TikTok.

They might go to the gym, however, and run on a treadmill plugged into their own tunes. I suppose, on balance, we should praise rather than put them down for preferring health over heavy alcohol consumption.

There are also serious concerns over personal safety.

Cuts to public transport don’t help either. The costs add up. It’s not just the young affected by this. Living in Barnsley demands war-footing levels of pre-planning if I go to a concert or the theatre in Leeds, for instance. Someone has to drive, or we have to book a mini-bus, or find an Uber home, or end up having to leave way before the end of any performance, because the last train home leaves at 23.01. Try running from the O2 Academy to the railway station if you’ve waited for the encore and you’ll see what I mean.

McDowall’s insight into changing habits is backed up with data; he says Stonegate served more than half a million bottomless brunches across the country last year.

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Despite the slightly queasy feeling that yet more bastions of British life are facing extinction, there’s a positive spin on this shift. Modern ‘day drinking’ and active socialising businesses finding homes in empty shops give new life to moribund town and city centres decimated by the departure of major retailers and the rise in online shopping.

Are we really right to mourn the slow death of the ‘big night out’? As long as it doesn’t involve floodlit indoor crazy golf, I guess I’ll just have to go with the flow.

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