London nightlife taskforce outlines goals for 24-hour city

Londoners need a “24-hour city”, with extended opening hours for retail and cultural spaces and “safe and reliable” late-night transport, according to recommendations by the UK capital’s nightlife taskforce.

An independent report commissioned by the Mayor of London has produced 10 proposals to improve the city’s after-work offering, including calling for a centralised register to track under-used and vacant properties which could become the next nightlife hotspot.

In 2024, London’s night-time economy was estimated to generate £21.05 billion.

Co-chief executive of membership bodies Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, Claire Walker, welcomed the report as evidence London leadership was committed to tackling “some of the challenges currently facing our nightlife economy.”

“Late night shows and performances are integral to the culture of a vibrant and exciting city,” Walker said.

“The report’s emphasis on the importance of reliable night-time transport infrastructure is particularly welcome. Longer operating hours for the London Underground would ensure that both audiences and theatre workers are safer traveling home after a show.”

‘Protect independent venues’

Last year, Mayor Sadiq Khan assembled business representatives and everyday London citizens to form an independent taskforce on city nightlife. The Nightlife Taskforce report, published yesterday (27 January), presents that group’s findings.

Conducted between February and August 2025, the research is predicated on a series of focus groups, surveys, and interviews, with the findings revealing strong support among city dwellers for independent and smaller-scale cultural hubs.

Among the top issues cited for London nightlife by those surveyed, the most discussed was support for independent venues, particularly those under threat of closure or development; a cultural offering that better caters to a wide range of people; late-night safety; and licensing or regulatory reform, to allow for extended or 24-hour opening times.

A significant proportion of those polled — 28% of Londoners — reported that limited or unreliable public transport puts them off staying out after 10pm, while 27% cited the high cost of transport.

Business owners, meanwhile, looking to keep their spaces open raised concerns around cost, with 68% mentioning the impact of VAT and business rates, 67% discussing energy bills, and 60% referencing rent.

A ‘fundamental shift’

In the introduction to the report’s recommendations, the taskforce describe how the proposals “set out a fundamental shift in London’s night-time governance, regulation and policy-making”.

Key planks of the desired strategy for the city include the recognition that nightlife, defined in the report as “social and cultural participation” taking place between 6pm and 6am, is a legitimate part of the cultural ecosystem. In fact, the report suggests London leadership ought to be “advocating for the inclusion of nightlife as a sector that is officially supported and championed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.”

The taskforce also hopes to see the implementation of a ‘Nightlife Future Fund’, to provide start-up funding for the “development of groundbreaking nightlife”, and for licensing and planning regulations to adopt a “more flexible” approach, with venue and business owners surveyed holding the “overwhelming view” that existing systems are “outdated, arbitrary and stifling” nightlife.

“Nightlife embodies so much of what makes London great,” the report concludes, but it faces “immense and growing challenges”.