I’m under fire as London’s night tsar – but here’s how I’m making a difference

Thanks to Covid, Brexit staffing shortages, a cost of living crisis and the scourge of drink spiking, the capital’s nightlife is under strain like never before – but, insists BBC 6 Music host Amy Lamé, there are ways to keep the world’s greatest city going round the clock

Amy Lamé has been Sadiq Khan’s night tsar since 2016 (Supplied)

I’ve always been a night-time person, and I love when a city comes alive after dark. People – working, travelling, out enjoying themselves – all contribute to creating a special atmosphere.

I’ve worked at night all my life. For almost three decades, I ran my club night, Duckie, at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, which also produced work for the Barbican, Southbank Centre and many other cultural spaces across London, the UK and the world. I’ve certainly earned my stripes on the night-time frontline in a city that never sleeps, alongside delivery drivers, nurses, doctors, cleaners, bus drivers, office workers and bus drivers who all keep our capital running 24/7.

So I was disappointed to read reports in other newspapers questioning the necessity of London having a night tsar, a job that enables me to support and supercharge the capital’s life at night, and one that I have held since 2016.