Manchester, England, has appointed its first night-time economy advisor, Sacha Lord. The role has been created by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to ensure a consistent approach to Manchester’s nightlife by co-ordinating with businesses, police, customers and residents in order to provide the best experience possible for everyone involved.

Lord’s previous 25 years of experience in the sector has included heading large projects such as both the Parklife festival and the Warehouse Project, as well as being a board director of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA).

The job will entail a similar role to London’s night czar. Lord has previously called on the Greater Manchester mayor to create a night czar role for the city. The role will focus greatly on the economic side of Manchester’s nightlife, famous for having the highest spend on nightlife per person in the whole of Britain (the night time economy across the whole of Britain is worth in excess of £70 billion).

“Drawing on my 25 years of experience in the sector, along with comments and opinions from all 10 boroughs and members of the panel, I’m looking forward to getting work and helping to build on Greater Manchester’s night-time economy,” says Lord.

“This is an historic moment”

Manchester is revered for its contributions to Britain’s culture identity, from developing bands like Oasis and rhe Smiths, to its iconic Canal Street and Factory Records, as well as the creation of thousands of jobs in the sector.

Chairman of the NTIA, Alan D. Miller, comments: “This is an historic moment. Manchester, which has given so much to the world culturally now has an ambassador that will help the city and region to flourish even further and continue to act as the jewel in Britain’s crown.”

In other NTIA news, the association is hosting the Summer Solstice Trade festival, as part of the mayor of London’s Sounds Like London campaign. The one-day conference takes place on 12 June at Dinerama in Shoreditch, and will see panels and debates about the progress and future of the industry.

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