International NightLife Association

The ninth International Nightlife Congress and the fourth Spanish Nightlife Congress will be based on one of the main pillars marking the industry agenda today: safety and fire prevention championed by the Spain Nightlife and International Nightlife business associations as the sector's clear commitment to the safety of its nightlifers and workers. To that end, an array of national and international experts in fire prevention will meet in Barcelona on November 27th and 28th. Joaquim Boadas, secretary general of both entities, specified that "after more than ten years toiling to ensure that national and international nightlife is safe and top quality, we cannot allow tragedies like the one in Murcia to happen again. That's why, once again, at this year's annual congress we will place special emphasis on the issue of safety in the nightlife sector. The goal is to further promote existing security measures and unify criteria, regulations and protocols to make all nightlifers safer”.

 

 

“These two congresses will address topics that, in one way or another, are directly linked to the quality and safety we promote by developing, promoting and implementing international standards, making our total commitment to safety in our venues plain and clear. We will also address other important issues like sexual violence prevention and equality, sustainability and coexistence at night”, concluded Boadas.

 

Moreover, the roll-out of measures to prevent sexual violence, the sector's commitment to innovation and sustainability, and the figure of women in nightlife will be other topics at the centre of these well-established meetings. Professionals from around the world in the field of leisure can register now on the International Nightlife Association website.

 

Safety: a priority in the nightlife sector

“Safety: a priority in the nightlife sector” is the title of the panel discussion that will open the first day of this international event, which will situate the city of Barcelona as the global epicentre of nightlife for two days.

Participating in this first round table is Rodolfo di Pinto, president of the Argentina Nightclub Federation (FEDRA). Di Pinto will explain first-hand the case of the 2004 fire at the Cromañón club in Buenos Aires that claimed the lives of 193 people and touched off aback-and-forth of accusations between the city government and owners of Cromañón, similar to what is happening in Murcia. Other participants include Saul Peleg, manager of Where You At Ltd, who will present an application to improve clubber safety, as well as Maurizio Pasca, president of the Italian and European Nightlife Associations and deputy vice president of the International Nightlife Association, and Joaquim Boadas, secretary general of International Nightlife Association. That discussion will be moderated by Camilo Ospina, president of the Board of Directors of Asobares Colombia and third vice president of the International Nightlife Association.

“Technological advances and formulas to guarantee the coexistence and cohabitation of nightlife uses” is the title of the next topic to be addressed at this international congress, where speakers such as Michael Kill, CEO of the UK Nightlife Association, and Bartomeu Roselló, an international acoustics expert and director of AVALUA, will participate.

This first day of the congress will close with “Women in the nightlife sector: an increasingly far-reaching and relevant role”, a discussion which will be attended by Ariel Palitz, New York's former Nightlife Mayor and Silvana Kill, operations director of the UK Nightlife Association. The event will be moderated by Marianela Olivares, CEO of Linkers and COO of Hosteleo.

8th Golden Moon Awards and The World's 100 Best Clubs Gala

During the Golden Moon Awards Gala on the evening of 27 November, the clubs making up the prestigious list of 'The World's 100 Best Clubs' 2023 will be unveiled.

A total of 373 venues from 65 different countries have been nominated for these prestigious global awards, of which 100 will be part of this list and only one will be proclaimed "The World's Best Club", a title that Hï Ibiza has managed to snag for the last three years.

The following day, 28 November, the International Nightlife Congress will continue with “Innovation, sustainability and new marketing strategies in the international nightlife sector”, a conference featuring the success stories of Hayan Abou Assali, general manager of SOT Dubai, former general manager of Cavalli Club Dubai and representative of the International Nightlife Association in the Middle East; JC Díaz, president of the American Nightlife Association; and Camille Guitteau, co-founder of the Bye Bye Plastic Foundation.

4th Spanish Nightlife Congress (CNON)

The fourth Spanish Nightlife Congress will begin with a round-table discussion featuring various national security experts and entitled “Security regulations in force in the various Autonomous Communities of Spain. Should criteria be unified?”. With emphasis on regulations related to fire prevention, this round table will focus the discussion on the various existing safety regulations applicable to nightlife in each Spanish Autonomous Community - the sole authorities on matters of entertainment and leisure activities. In addition, attendees will discuss the importance of unifying criteria and regulations across the country. The round table will feature a representative of the Professional Association of Fire Technicians (APTB) as well as other speakers.

Then, Juan Miguel Costa, general director of tourism of the Consell Insular d'Eivissa, will focus on the island of Ibiza as a tourist benchmark as part of a panel called “Nightlife as a major tourist attraction and as a strategic ally for the territory”. The panel is part of around table moderated by José Luis Benítez, vice president of Spain Nightlife and president of the International Nightlife Association, and will crown a conference marked by current events in one of the strongest economic sectors of the macro tourism sector worldwide, with Spain at the forefront.