The current nightlife scene in India, though evolving, continues to face time and venue restrictions. Even the major metropolitan cities have just a handful of nightclubs that remain open through the wee hours of the night. Therefore, with a vision to develop a vibrant and profitable nightlife and bar culture in the country, the India Nightlife Convention and Awards (INCA) was founded. The convention, founded with an aim to identify new products, trends and strategies in the hospitality industry, is the largest nightlife platform in India.
On 15 and 16 September, the third edition of the INCA was held at Shangri-La’s Eros, New Delhi. Hosted annually, INCA brings together thousands of industry professionals from the nightlife segment of the hospitality sector. This year, the two-day event included workshops, panel discussions, master-classes and exhibitions, followed by award ceremonies to felicitate the best in the nightlife and hospitality sectors.
The event highlighted the evolution of nightlife culture by acknowledging the industry’s growth, aided by entrepreneurs and specialists from within the sector. The convention is a joint venture of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) and Kickstart Entertainment, in association with Budweiser Experiences.
About INCA, Rahul Singh, President, NRAI, said, “Through INCA, we wanted to reach out to the policymakers to address concerns to make a more progressive and compliant system that boosts entrepreneurial drive for enhancing the nightlife industry. India’s F&B industry has seen explosive growth in the last few years. Factors like a large youthful demographics, increasing disposable income, higher exposure to international trends and changing consumer lifestyles have increased demand for a buoyant nightlife, and this growth shows no signs of abating anytime soon. Nightlife adds personality to communities, helps bring people together and has an enormous social impact on the liveability index of a city.”
Among the attendees at the INCA were several prolific personalities from around the world—renowned “Night Mayors” and “Night Czars”, who broke conventions and defined the nightlife industry in their respective cities. The aim behind this was to provide a global perspective on nightlife destinations and bar culture. In attendance were Mirik Milan (Former Night Mayor of Amsterdam), Lutz Leichsenring (Club Commisioner, Berlin), Hideyuki Yukoi, aka Zeebra (Night Ambassador of Shibuya City, Tokyo) and Joaquim Boadas De Quintana (Secretary General of International Nightlife Association). These eminent figures shared their ideas, insights and vision of nightlife at the event.
Day 1 started with the “30un}der30” roundtable workshop, which saw young people from India’s music, nightlife and hospitality scenes having a constructive dialogue about the future of nightlife culture in India. The topics discussed included framework conditions, access to decision makers, education and awareness, community building, protecting creative spaces and operating cultural public or private venues. Next, there were panel discussions on topics such as Scaling Bars, Evolution of Day Life and Are You Serving the Right Music etc. The first day concluded with a comprehensive set of City Awards.
Hideyuki Yokoi, Night Ambassador of Shibuya City, Tokyo, who is known for playing an integral role in the re-assessment of the Japanese national law, which restricted late night entertainment in his country, shared his views on cultivating a nightlife culture. He said, “A good environment is a must in the nightlife industry. Emphasis should be on entertainment, crowd, creative space, visual imagery and safety. There has to be an understanding between club owners, customers and the community. So establishing communication between all these segments is very important. People move with the culture and government moves with the people. So, one should consider all aspects.”
Day 2 of the convention was led by stalwarts of the Indian hospitality industry, such as Rahul Singh (President, NRAI), Chef Saransh Goila, Faye D’Souza (Executive Editor, Mirror Now), and Deepali Gupta (Co-Founder, Slate Consulting/Author, Times Nightlife Guide) among others. The panel discussions involved topics like Bar Food Trends, When Life Gives You Lemon: Add Tequila, Changing Tides: The Rise of Cocktail Bars, The Women of Nightlife and more.
The day ended with an awards distribution ceremony. Among some of the awardees were Kitty Su, The Lalit, New Delhi—Best Night Club; Social—Best Bar Chain; KOKO Asian Gastropub, Mumbai—Best Bar for Cocktails; Jeet Rana from Arth in Mumbai—Best Mixologist and others.
Mirik Milan, the former Night Mayor of Amsterdam is well known for redesigning the city’s nightlife scene. He told us about his understanding of a proper nightlife. “There are three elements to a vibrant nightlife: culture determined by artists and performances, framework including license and business hours etc., and lastly, affordable and accessible space,” he said.
Lutz Leichsenring, Club Commisioner, Berlin, also spoke at the event about protecting creative industries. In his career, he has fought for the rights of Berlin’s vast underground club scene by organising conferences, demonstrations, workshops, and by speaking at parliamentary committees etc. By this visit, he wanted to strengthen communities from the music scene to art spaces. He stressed on the importance of identifying local talent to help protect the entertainment scene.
While the café circuit forms one of the most sectors of the hospitality industry in India, the nightlife and bar scene is now slowly increasing its reach. From cultural barriers to licensing and security issues, club owners are grappling with various problems.
This collaborative effort at INCA generated fresh ideas and perspectives on furthering the nightlife culture in our country. While promoting ideas and thoughts surely contribute to the understanding of the industry, what’s crucial is to explore ways to implement the ideas. And even though we have a long way to go before India can be regarded as a nightlife destination, such endeavours bring us a step closer.