Ibiza Nightlife Association demands Night Mayor

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Ibiza’s Nightlife Association (Ocio de Ibiza) demands the imposition of the “Night Mayor” figure on the Island. Said figure currently exists in almost fifty cities around the world and has marked a turning point in the management of nightlife in cities such as Amsterdam, Zurich, New York, Tokyo, London, Berlin or Paris, where conflicts with neighbors over noise and complaints of assault have been significantly reduced.

Ibiza, despite being a world reference in the nightlife industry, lacks this figure, a kind of mediator without the fining capacity that tries to reconcile the development of the nightlife activity while respecting the rest of citizens.

In Spain, cities such as Madrid and Barcelona are already considering creating this figure, in fact, the acting Mayor of Madrid, Manuela Carmena, announced a few days ago that her political party proposes to establish a “Night Mayor” for the city. Carmena argues that she wants to work in favor of “a quality leisure model”.

In the capital of Spain, they recognize the important role that the nightlife industry plays within the city’s economy, as well as the need for fun for people. This, of course, keeping in mind the neighbors’ right to rest, which is why they are convinced that this mediator will allow creating a forum for dialogue between nightlife entrepreneurs, neighbors, and the government administrations.

Following the steps of the Mayor of Madrid, Spain Nightlife, association adhered to the International Nightlife Association, also asked a few days ago for Barcelona to introduce this same figure. Nightlife entrepreneurs in Barcelona are equally convinced that the “Night Mayor” contributes to reducing the “unfairly” problems associated with regulated nightlife, they say. In a statement to the press, the Secretary General of Spain Nightlife, Joaquim Boadas, said that, “Neither Barcelona nor Madrid would be what they are without their nightlife offer, since nightlife is not only a tourist attraction of the first order, but also a source of wealth to protect”.

For this reason, José Luis Benítez, Manager of Ibiza’s Nightlife Association and President of the International Nightlife Association, underlines that, Ibiza should take into account the success of the “Night Mayor” figure in those cities where it has been established and the fact that Madrid and Barcelona are also studying this possibility. Benítez also stated,“It is clear that this figure should be adapted to the special circumstances of the island, it could even have another name and could be linked to the Administration or be an independent entity, detached from political changes. The important thing is to move towards responsible and consensual leisure”.

Benítez recalls in this sense the words spoken by Jorge Sanza, Nightlife Ambassador of Madrid and spokesman for ‘Nix Night Table’ (Nightlife Commission of Madrid) and who pointed out that the implantation in Spain of the “Night Mayor” would mean “the professionalization of the nightlife industry”, at the same time that it would give the night a more cultural and less commercial look, and would allow implementing at the national level common protocols to avoid problems derived from nightlife, such as noise pollution, binge drinking and sexual abuse like it has happened in other cities with a “Night Mayor”.

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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