Manchester enjoys more after-hours fun than any European city, according to an analysis of lift and escalator journeys around Europe.
According to the elevator manufacturer Kone, Britain’s third-largest urban hub is referred to as the continent’s “after-hours City”, with more than four per cent of lift journeys taken between midnight and 4am – which is twice the European average.
London, meanwhile, is handed the slightly more belt-and-braces honour of “the out-of-hours office capital”, with 17 per cent of lift journeys in commercial buildings going on outside of standard continental office hours.
While Manchester edges its competition in terms of nocturnal activity, continental Europe still has the edge on daytime leisure. The research crowns Barcelona as the top destination for a long lunch, with midday activity spanning four hours and peaking at a luxurious 2pm.
Meanwhile, Vienna comprises Europe’s earliest risers, with rush hour kicking off as early as 5am.
One area where the continent does have the nighttime edge over the UK is for late-in-week drinking – where often London sees its pubs at their busiest – with Paris topping the list for Thirsty Thursdays.
Manchester has unrivalled nightlife heritage
This is the latest sign that planning problems, nosy neighbours and local government mismanagement has tarnished London’s reputation as a nightlife destination.
A recent City AM Life&Style dispatch found that it is difficult to buy a drink in Soho after 1am, without having good connections or a willingness to shell out the big bucks.
Fabric nightclub even announced a tie-up with St Paul’s Cathedral recently in a bid to boost revenue.
At the same time, Manchester has continued to build on a strong clubbing heritage, a culture which provided much of the backdrop for Andy Burnham’s feel-good bid for PM.
Following his victory speech after he was elected unopposed to the Labour leadership, the northern city’s former mayor was serenaded by New Order’s ‘True Faith’, a fixture at Manchester’s iconic Hacienda club.
The legendary venue – which was also a key location for the New Order precursor Joy Division and the Happy Mondays – was canonised in the 2002 film ‘24 Hour Party People’, starring Steve Coogan.