ABSTRACT
Evening entertainment and night-time activities have long featured in tourism destinations as an essential element in what has been coined the ‘experience economy’ of events, live performance and social gatherings around clubs, bars, restaurants and other venues. These invariably cater primarily for tourists during the peak season. Cities and urban tourism, on the other hand, offer a range of late-night activities all year round for a mix of residents, day visitors and tourists alike. These range from the traditional ‘night life’ of theatre, cinema and other cultural venues to bar and catering outlets often located on and around routes that are designed for public movement and circulation such as shopping streets, entertainment zones and squares – for example, Leicester Square, London, and Times Square, New York. These areas are often well lit and represent what Hannigan (2007) calls ‘controlled edge’, but they essentially provide a backdrop to consumption and visitor activity, window shopping and soaking up the night-life atmosphere. Another familiar image of historic towns and cities is illuminated heritage sites and buildings – from cathedrals, churches to fountains and monuments. Events that bring the outdoor public realm together with cultural and heritage venues at night are, however, a more recent development (Evans 2010). These seek, explicitly or not, to extend the night-time economy of cities in a more festive environment, opening up traditional as well as more off-beat areas and venues to locals and visitors alike. These late-and light-night events are the subject of this chapter. A particular example of this phenomenon are Nuit Blanche or Light Night festivals which
have multiplied in European and North American cities and further afield over the past ten years. Their origins vary, but light/all-night events have been associated with religious and cultural festivals, predominantly held in the early autumn. Earlier light-night events are identified with St Petersburg’s White Nights cultural festival, held over several weeks, and Berlin’s Lange Nacht or Long Night of Museums, with museums staying open until 2 a.m. twice a year. Since Paris inaugurated the Nuit Blanche in 2002, a movement of such festivals has developed and gained momentum. The majority of subsequent events reference Paris and use the Nuit Blanche brand, and in several cases French cultural organisations are active in funding, sponsorship and event promotion. The latest addition to the Nuit Blanche brand is New York,
which held its first ‘bringtolightnyc’ festival in October 2010. Other capital cities (e. g. Copenhagen, Dublin, London) also use the late-night opportunity to promote area-based cultural festivals and contemporary art events. Features of these ‘white night’ events are illuminations on buildings and light installations,
including fireworks displays, late-night opening of museums and galleries and in some cases performing arts venues, parks and gardens, sports facilities, and live events in major squares, stadia and waterfront sites. Public transport – normally free/low cost – is extended into the early hours along festival routes and to venues, with additional bus and tube/tram services to cope with the extra demand. This festival event is also increasingly a vehicle for new artists and award schemes, including biennales, and in some cases children and young people’s events and participation, as well as community and local area development. The events are normally free, although in some cases a combined ticket is purchased for a series of museums or galleries.
