AAA White Paper The political economy of informal events, 2030 | Page 101

Key
Night, count Day, count
Night, per cent Day, per cent
per cent
30,000 60
25,000 50
20,000 40
15,000 30
10,000 20
5,000 10
17
Chart 28
Source: GLA Economics,
London at night: an
evidence base for a 24-
hour city, November 2018,
using Metropolitan Police
data
70
35,000 80
40,000
over six units than do older women. But the ONS also suggests that
the proportion of British 16-24 year-olds who say they don’t drink at
all, which stood at 19.0 per cent in 2005, rose to 22.8 per cent by 2017.
This kind of evidence confirms that, in events as elsewhere,
there’s an urgent need to take a balanced view of young people
and alcohol.
Earlier, we argued that a future recession might cheapen the
market for events as much as broaden it. Similarly, if alcohol
consumption among British youth continues to fall, there could be
a race to the bottom in the informal events business. The spread of
teetotal habits among event-conscious young people might send
unscrupulous event organisers, worried about declining drink
sales, to cheapen prices and turn a blind eye to young, too boozy
men and women.
That’s certainly possible. But is it inevitable? Will events
professionals everywhere, with all their experience and
ingenuity, only be able to prevent mass drunkenness through
draconian measures and laws? Might not abstinence from drink
turn out, in 2030, to characterise perhaps 25 or even 30 per cent
of British 16-24 year-olds – making conduct at informal events
actually easier to handle than it is now?
101
Total recorded and alcohol-related
offences, London: by night and
day, count, and percentage of all
offences, 2010/11 to 2017/18