Campervan

• Evidence of this demise and the ongoing threat of bar and club closures can be seen everywhere.
• In late 2023 the renowned London club G-A-Y closed its doors, as did many other bars and clubs, victims of an array of economic difficulties.
• All these things have acted to catalyse this destructive process, stripping city nightlife scenes of queer venues.

Revolution through evolution

• But if gay nightlife has been forced to change, something more exciting is evolving in its place, according to Amin Ghaziani’s book Long Live Queer Nightlife: How the Closing of Gay Bars Sparked a Revolution.
• By sharing insights and experiences from in and around London’s evolving queer nightlife scene, Ghaziani reveals how it continues to thrive in spite of widespread closures.
• Ghaziani argues that the very nature of queer spaces has merely transformed, now surviving more independently “underground” – often away from the mainstream nightlife sectors.
• Ghaziani’s book links the demise of gay clubs in London to the rise of new queer events appearing throughout the city.

Beyond the city

• The queer underground of the big city is moving, adapting, evolving, as Ghaziani contends.
• Culture is changing and this book helps to explain why and how, encouraging the celebration of queer nightlife itself.
• But by immersing us in a night out in the big city, the book manages to convey feelings of fun and togetherness, reminding us that nightlife is above all about joy, expression and community.
• Ghaziani is asking us not to dwell on the devastation of the gay nightclub scene, but celebrate the queer night’s evolution.

Zack Ditch receives funding from Midlands4Cities.