Night mayor (municipal title) explained

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]

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.^[3] Following elections at Melkweg on 1 March 2012, the position was held by Mirik Milan.^[4] 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.^{[5] [6]} Milan announced his departure in 2016, starting the search for a replacement which would be found in 2018.^{[7] [8]}

Since 2016, the non-profit has organised annual "Night Mayor Summit" events to bring together leaders from around the world.^{[9] [10] [11]}

Around the world

Europe

• Amsterdam, Netherlands: informal collective since 2003,^[12] institutionalised since 2014, the first in the world.
• 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]

Latin America

• Cali, Colombia: since 2016,^[19] the first in Latin America.^[20]

North America

• Ottawa, ON, Canada: since 2024.
• Washington DC, USA: since 2018.^{[21] [22]}

References

1. Web site: Milliken. Grennan. 2017-05-27. Amsterdam Has a 'Night Mayor' and He's Not Here Just to Party. 2020-06-05. Vice. en.
2. Web site: Wiegman. Marcel. 2016-04-25. Nachtburgemeester: 'Meer dan een leuk erebaantje'. 2020-06-05. Het Parool. nl-NL.
3. Web site: 1 January 2005. Nachtwacht stopt en maakt balans op. 2020-06-05. Partyscene. nl.
4. Web site: Wolthuizen. Josien. 2018-02-25. Shamiro van der Geld gekozen tot nieuwe nachtburgemeester. 2020-06-05. Het Parool. nl-NL.
5. Web site: English — Stichting N8BM A'DAM. 2020-06-05. nachtburgemeester.amsterdam. en.
6. News: 2017-08-30. What Europe's 'Night Mayors' Can Teach New York. en-US. The New York Times. 2020-06-20.
7. Web site: Wiegman. Marcel. 2016-04-25. Nachtburgemeester: 'Meer dan een leuk erebaantje'. 2020-06-20. Het Parool. nl-NL.
8. Web site: Wolthuizen. Josien. 2018-02-25. Shamiro van der Geld gekozen tot nieuwe nachtburgemeester. 2020-06-20. Het Parool. nl-NL.
9. Web site: Sisson. Patrick. 2016-09-06. How night mayors are proving the economic and cultural value of robust nightlife. 2020-06-05. Curbed. en.
10. Web site: 2016-04-23. Buitenlandse nachtburgemeesters op stap in Amsterdam. 2020-06-05. nos.nl. nl.
11. Web site: 8 January 2018. De 'nachtburgemeester' wordt wereldwijd langzaam serieus genomen. 2020-06-05. nos.nl. nl.
12. Web site: Sakitumi. Dewey. 17 April 2003. De Nachtwacht: Amsterdam moet terug op de kaart van het uitgaansleven. 2020-06-05. KindaMuzik. en.
13. Web site: 2016-11-02. Night Czar. 2020-06-20. London City Hall. en-GB.
14. Web site: 4 November 2016. De nachtburgemeester moet Londens uitgaansleven redden. 2020-06-20. NOS.nl. nl.
15. Web site: 27 November 2015. Amsterdamse nachtburgemeester schiet Londen te hulp. 2020-06-20. NOS.nl. nl.
16. Web site: 19 July 2018. Mannheim to elect Germany's first 'night mayor'. 2020-06-05. www.thelocal.de.
17. Web site: Prague gets its first nightlife mayor. 2020-06-05. Radio Prague International. 22 January 2019 . en.
18. Web site: Barłowski . Karol . 2023-07-17 . Nocna warta. Pierwszy w Polsce burmistrz pracujący nocą . Night watch. The first night mayor in Poland to work at night . 2023-12-05 . katowice.tvp.pl . pl.
19. Web site: 2016-08-03. THE RISE OF THE NIGHT MAYOR. 2020-06-05. Public Sector Digest. en.
20. Web site: Delgadillo. Natalie. Latin America Is Getting Its First Night Mayor. 2020-06-05. CityLab. en.
21. News: Zaveri. Mihir. 2018-10-10. Washington Wants to Hire a Night Mayor. So What Is That?. en-US. The New York Times. 2020-06-05. 0362-4331.
22. Web site: DC Officially Has a New 'Night Mayor' to Oversee Nightlife . 2020-06-05. NBC4 Washington. 29 November 2018 . en-US.