Night mayor (municipal title)

Night Mayor (originally Dutch: Nachtburgemeester) is a municipal title used for someone who represents and helps develop a city's nightlife.^[1] The earliest known use of the title was in Rotterdam, Netherlands.^[2][3]

History

In 2003 music collective De Nachtwacht (Dutch for "The Night Watch") was elected by an audience at the Paradiso music venue in Amsterdam to become a group of multiple so-called night mayors for an initial term of three years.^[4] Following elections at Melkweg on 1 March 2012, the position was held by Mirik Milan.^[5][6] In 2014, Milan co-founded (other co-founders: Michiel Friedhoff and Ella Overkleeft) the non-profit Stichting N8BM A’DAM (NGO Night Mayor Foundation) to institutionalise the title, coordinating between the city mayor, city council, and local businesses.^[2][1][7] Milan announced his departure in 2016, starting the search for a replacement which would be found in 2018.^[8][9]

Since 2016, the non-profit has organised annual "Night Mayor Summit" events to bring together leaders from around the world.^[10][6][11]

Around the world

Europe

• Amsterdam, Netherlands: informal collective since 2003,^[12][4] institutionalised since 2014, the first in the world.^[1]
• London, United Kingdom: since 2016, with Amy Lamé as the first Night Czar.^[13][14] Mirik Milan was invited in 2015 by the London government for advice on the position.^[15]
• Mannheim, Germany: since 2018, the first in Germany.^[16]
• Prague, Czech Republic: since 2019.^[17]
• Manchester, United Kingdom: Sacha Lord is the Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester, appointed by Mayor Andy Burnham in 2018.
• Sosnowiec, Poland: since 2023, the first in Poland.^[18]
• Kraków, Poland: since 2024.^[19]

Latin America

• Cali, Colombia: since 2016,^[20] the first in Latin America.^[21]

North America

• Ottawa, ON, Canada: since 2024.
• Washington DC, USA: since 2018.^[22][23]

Russia

• Ulyanovsk, since 2019,^[24] the first in Russia.