New BBC documentary ‘Clubbing: Is the Party Over?’ is now available on iPlayer

The BBC has launched a new documentary exploring the issues facing UK nightlife in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nightclubs: Is the Party Over? features interviews with DJs, promoters and party-goers to investigate the current challenges facing Clubland and determine why over a third of nightclubs in the UK have shuttered since 2020.

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DJs interviewed for the documentary include Ahadaream, sim0ne and SHERELLE — with the BBC Radio 6 presenter insisting in the film that “Clubbing is becoming a luxury, and that’s just crazy.”

“You should be able to listen to music at any time you want. You should be able to enter a club and be with friends at any time you want,” SHERELLE continues. “It actually doesn’t feel like we’re in a very good space.”

“So hopefully lots of communities come together, lots of DIY things are created and we do things physically because we can put stuff out on social media all we want, but if we’re not physical about creating these spaces, then nothing will get done,” SHERELLE adds.

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The film highlights figures from the NTIA that show 405 nightclubs closed in the UK since 2020, having dropped from 1,240 in March 2020 to only 835 in November 2024.

“There needs to be more of an importance given to these spaces as cultural spaces rather than people just assuming that it’s a place that people go to lose themselves in hedonism,” Ahadadream says in the documentary.

You can watch Nightclubs: Is The Party Over? on BBC iPlayer here.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag’s Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter