The Night Mayor at Work

How to manage “the night” has always been of concern to city governments. A focus of sociology, criminology, leisure studies and cultural studies in the past three decades has seen health, safety and policing concerns coupled with examining the rise of the night-time economy as critically important to cities' prosperity. This chapter examines the emergence of the Night Mayor as one response to the increasingly complex challenges of managing popular culture at night. It is no coincidence that many chosen for such city-wide roles possess significant careers in the popular music industries as practitioners or venue managers. As cities attempt to simultaneously sell nightlife cultures as both “safe” and “vibrant”, the chapter dissects the significant structural barriers preventing the Night Mayor from fulfilling its promise to deliver improved night-time music economies.