Overview
The man who helped Amsterdam maintain its nightlife will travel to Sydney in November, as one of the major guest speakers at this year's Electronic Music Conference. As the Night Mayor of Amsterdam, for the past few years Mirik Milan has built connections between business owners, residents and various government entities, creating a safe and prosperous environment under which the city's after dark culture could thrive.
Huh. Must be nice.
With its world famous lockout laws, the City of Sydney has obviously taken a slightly different approach to its citizen's nocturnal activities — something we're sure Milan will touch on in his opening keynote address.
Pictured: Sydney's official nightlife policy.
"We believe Milan's knowledge and experience will be invaluable in our own city's pursuit of a vibrant and safe nightlife," said EMC programmer Eric Flanagan. "Amsterdam has shown us and the rest of the world that it is possible to achieve this."
Although Night Mayor isn't actually an official government position — rather, Milan is the head of an advisory NGO — that hasn't stopped the former club promoter from having a significant impact on policy. In the past few years he's helped clarify Amsterdam's drug laws, introduced 'soft enforcement' services to try and deescalate potentially dangerous situations, and pushed hard for 24-hour licences in certain nightclubs which, since their introduction, have led to a significant reduction in street noise. He's been so successful that several other cities around Europe, including Zurich and Paris, have introduced Night Mayors of their own.
Now in its fifth year, the Electronic Music Festival will run from November 28 until December 2 at the Ivy complex in Sydney, and will feature panel discussions, Q&As, workshops, parties and more. Early bird tickets are available now. Keep your eyes peeled for the full program announcement, which should be dropping soon.