According to The Chronicle, Newcastle's night-life industry puts £340mn into the regional economy and supports around 6500 jobs.
The pandemic has forced some nightclubs to close, and others to change their licenses. However, despite some businesses changing their licensing hours in a bid to make some profit, the 10pm curfew and second lockdown have limited the benefits of such changes.
'Save Our Scene' was put forward as a way of connecting people in the North East to local businesses.
“If these businesses don’t survive the pandemic, we’ll be losing our city’s character, part of our history"
Catherine McKinnell, MP for Newcastle North
In an open letter about organising Save Our Scene, the writers detailed: "[Nightlife] is one of the things that makes our lives worth living. We believe the world is better because it exists".
The campaign aims to use "newspapers, websites and social media channels to highlight business that are still open, even if in a limited way."
“We will also be encouraging companies to spend money that would have been used for staff Christmas parties with local pubs and restaurants."
At a national level, Save Our Scene promise to keep pressuring the government to continue providing financial support to cultural and hospitality businesses.
Catherine McKinnell, MP for Newcastle North, echoed this concern: “If these businesses don’t survive the pandemic, we’ll be losing our city’s character, part of our history."
The campaign is expected to raise awareness of the situation to allow the industry to get back on track in these uncertain times.
Feature Image: Flickr
