Sadiq Khan has announced London’s first night czar is Amy Lamé
It's that moment we've all been waiting for.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced the name of his new night czar, who'll be tasked with boosting the capital's nighttime culture. It's writer, DJ, performer and campaigner Amy Lamé.
She'll be working with Khan, the Night Time Commission, businesses, councils, Met Police and Transport for London to make London a "24-hour city". According to the Centre for Economic Business Research, unlocking the capital's night-time economy could deliver a £3bn boost to the capital. No pressure.
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Khan said: “The recent closure of the world-famous nightclub Fabric and the threats facing other venues across the capital show why Amy will be a much-needed ambassador for the city after dark."
The hire of Lamé, he said, "will give a big boost to our city's flourishing nightlife", as would her "proven track-record of helping save venues".
She co-founded and chairs RVT Future, a voluntary LGBT+ group which was set up to preserve the Royal Vauxhall Tavern after it was threatened with closure last year.
London's new Night Czar is… Amy Lamé @amylame @BBCLondonNews pic.twitter.com/Or0Gd6Td9P
— Tolu Adeoye (@ToluAdeoyeNews) November 4, 2016
Lamé will work 2.5 days a week for £35,000. Not bad. The advert for the position said Khan was after someone who could show "proven leadership ability, public profile and convening power, plus a thorough understanding of the night time economy and the ability to work in a political environment".
As for specific duties, creating a vision for London as a 24-hour city is a must, along with a road map of how that'll be realised.
Lamé said:
With the advent of the Night Tube, and the Mayor’s commitment to protect iconic venues across the city, I’m confident that I can inspire a positive change in the way people think about the night time economy.
I look forward to bringing together local authorities, the police, Transport for London and many other people from across the night time industries to transform London into a truly 24-hour city.
It comes as Khan recently announced the fifth Tube line to get a Night Tube roll-out will be the Piccadilly line on 16 December. So the Mayor's sticking to his pledge to get five lines offering Night Tube services by the end of the year. The Northern line's Night Tube services start on 18 November.
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More than 100,000 people rode the Night Tube during its first weekend and it's expected to add £77m to London's economy each year by 2029. New research from Worldpay says businesses along Night Tube lines have already experienced a 20 per cent boost since its introduction.
Spending around Stratford Tube station on the Central line was up 40 per cent, while the number of transactions processed in Walthamstow on the Victoria line has more than doubled since the launch.