Bristol awarded prestigious Purple Flag accreditation

Photo : Shotaway

Bristol’s night-time economy is once again celebrating after receiving the coveted Purple Flag award in 2023, marking the 13th year in a row the city has been recognised with this accolade.

Purple Flag is an international accreditation awarded to cities that surpass excellence in managing their evening and night-time economies. Similar to the Blue Flag for beaches, the Purple Flag aims to raise the standard and broaden the appeal of town and city centres between the hours of 5pm and 5am.

The annual Purple Flag award, made by the national Association of Town Centre Management, assesses qualities such as safety, diversity, vibrancy, accessibility, cleanliness and partnership working, and it gives positive reassurance to those people planning a night out in the city.

Bristol was recognised for its vibrant and diverse mix of dining, entertainment and culture on offer while promoting the safety and wellbeing of visitors and local residents.

Councillor Craig Cheney, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet member for Finance, Governance and Performance, said:  

“Bristol is a destination city, with people visiting from all over the world to enjoy the diverse night life and venues. Receiving this award is a great accolade to Bristol and the hard work of the council and its partners. Promoting a vibrant and safe evening and night time entertainment offer is important for celebrating Bristol’s international reputation and the businesses and organisations at the heart of Bristol’s culture."

Carly Heath, Bristol’s Night-Time Economy Advisor, said:

 “It’s great that Bristol has received the Purple Flag award again this year. It comes in recognition of our continued hard work towards creating a more vibrant, welcoming, diverse and safer nightlife. Through Bristol Nights we have developed a lot of awareness and education campaigns including harm reduction, drink spiking and anti-sexual harassment. We strive to make Bristol’s night-time economy stronger, safer, more inclusive and better connected so people can enjoy a great night out.”

Bristol City Council and Bristol City Centre BID worked in partnership to manage the accreditation process through a comprehensive set of standards, ensuring that different aspects of the city’s offering were presented to the judges.

Vicky Lee, Head of Bristol City Centre BID, said: 

“We work closely with the council and our partners in the night-time economy to make sure our work supports and promotes the city, and allows people to fully enjoy what the city has to offer in the evening and after dark. Achieving the Purple Flag recognition is a huge benefit for businesses and recognises our vibrant and diverse mix of dining, entertainment and culture while promoting the safety and wellbeing of visitors and local residents. We look forward to continuing our work, putting on events and promoting the city on both national and international stages, to help attract people to visit, study, work and live here.”

City partners who help manage the night-time economy include Bristol City Centre BID, Cabot Circus BID, Bristol Nights, Bristol Waste, Night Watch, Bristol Women’s Voice and Avon and Somerset Police.

Highlights from Bristol’s submission include best practice on safety and harm reduction through the work of Bristol Nights, the diverse culture and events programme with successes like Bristol Light Festival, and schemes including the Clean Streets Strategy which help create a welcoming environment.

The evening and night-time economy directly or indirectly supports the employment of over 116,000 people in Bristol, representing 38% of the city’s overall jobs, and includes 1,099 premises in Bristol.

Climate Action and the Night Time Economy

An interactive workshop by Bristol Nights and Bristol Green Capital Partnership

Wednesday 9th November.
4:30 pm - 7 pm.
Bristol Beacon

The city doesn't stop at 6 o’clock and the climate crisis doesn't either. Bristol Nights and Bristol Green Capital Partnership have joined forces to create this workshop to best understand what climate action looks like for the night time economy and hospitality industry. 

Through this interactive session, we hope to identify the challenges and opportunities for taking climate action for the sector. 

Our hope is this exploration will highlight the support that would be useful to enable businesses to take more action on climate, within the context they are operating. 

We are looking for businesses that are enthusiastic about embedding climate action into their organisations, including those who’ve already made great strides towards net zero, and those yet to start and looking for guidance.   

This workshop is open to those responsible for or with influence over operations at licenced businesses in Bristol that operate past 6 pm. It’s free to attend but capacity is limited so do reserve a place. 

Book your space below:

Mental Health and Wellbeing Workshop

Wednesday 12th October.
5pm -7pm.
Strange Brew

Bristol Nights invites leaders across the hospitality and night time economy to come together and reflect on the mental health and wellbeing interventions best suited for our workforce.

This workshop will help us understand what needs to be put in place by organisations to provide our night time workers with the support they need to build resilience into our industry.

Over two hours, we will explore the mental health challenges faced by our sector, discuss the ideal interventions for our workforce, and help us design a mental health and wellbeing framework, bespoke for the Bristol night time economy.

In response to this research The Thrive at Night programme will be developed by Bristol City Council, led by the Night Time Economy Advisor, in collaboration with partners and venues to provide training, peer support and a framework of best practices for all hospitality and late-night businesses.

Your organisation might already have a scheme in place, or be at the beginning of creating an employee assistance wellness program. We want to understand what the sector needs, so we can do our best to produce a programme of support for you as venue owners and business leaders. 

This workshop is being delivered in partnership with NAOS, an intersectional mental health organisation who believe that therapy should be accessible to all.

Book your space below:

Bristol Nights steps up efforts to demonstrate its zero-tolerance response to sexual harrassment.

Bristol Nights Campaign makes expert training on sexual harassment accessible to all night time economy workers ahead of the return of students to the city.

Bristol Nights has launched an online platform, with free-to-access anytime training courses addressing sexual harrassment and drink spiking, and is inviting the city’s night-time workers to take the courses ahead of the students returning to the city in September. 

The 8 part course features films presented by female members of the city’s night-time workforce, bringing to life issues and the city’s approach to stamping out incidents in its venues.

Bristol Nights has also announced new dates for its free in-person and online training sessions throughout autumn to reinforce the city’s zero-tolerance response to sexual harrassment by training workers with best practice in dealing with incidents. Live sessions online will take place on 31st August and 11th October, and in person training will take place on 11th October, 24th October and 8th November at Watershed.

The initial project, led by Bristol City Council, that trained night-time ecconomy workers in dealing with incidents of sexual harrassment, was designed in collaboration with the night-time economy and VAWG agencies and this new campaign is delivered once again across the city in partnership with Bristol City Centre BID.

Carly Health, Bristol Night-Time Economy Advisor, comments:

“Improving the safety of women at night is vital, and a challenge which cannot be achieved without allies throughout the city. We know that our nightlife communities care about the safety and wellbeing of people enjoying our nightlife, and we want to reinforce this important message as students return to the city.

“We invite all members of the night-time workforce and businesses to join our zero-tolerance approach to sexual harrassment, but we understand that not all workers can attend in-person training, so our online course makes it more accessible. Workers can access it at any time, and then spread the word to their co-workers with training manuals and practice manuals available for download.” 

Night-time economy workers can sign up for the 8 part training course or take part in training sessions scheduled until the end of the year here: https://www.bristolnights.co.uk/anti-sexual-harassment.  

To find out more about the project, follow Bristol Nights on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook or visit the Bristol Nights website.

Join the Bristol Nights Advisory Board

Bristol Nights is refreshing its advisory panel and invites new expressions of interest. We are looking for people from across the sector to help shape the future of Bristol's Nightlife

The Bristol @ Night Panel was set up in 2018 and was a vital lifeline for night-time businesses during the pandemic. Since the appointment of Bristol’s first night-time advisor in 2021, Bristol Nights has established city-wide safety campaigns such as Bristol Rules, Stop Spiking, Anti-Sexual Harassment Training and the launch of a Women’s Safety Charter

The Panel has been an invaluable example of how people leading nightlife can unite to solve issues that affect the industry and wider population. 

As we look to the future, some of the themes we intend to explore include:

·       Sustainability and Climate Action

·       Harm Reduction (Drugs and Alcohol)

·       Skills and Training

·       Access and Inclusion

·       Mental Health for Night-time Workers

·       Economic Development

Bristol’s vibrant Night-Time economy is a diverse community of independent businesses, talented artists, innovative promoters, family pubs, fine dining chefs and pop-up street food. We represent all businesses who operate between 6pm-6am, provide over 30% of the city’s jobs, and countless audience experiences - both to the local population and through the tourism economy.

Bristol Nights is looking for strategic thinkers from across the nightlife landscape.

How to Apply

Please submit your Expressions of Interest on this online form https://forms.office.com/r/QztLBTLm5Z

·       250-300 word expressions of interest

·       We will accept video applications via private link, please keep these to no more than 3 minutes

The applications received are being overseen by a panel including Bristol City Council specialists, the Night Time Economy Advisor and an independent sector expert.

Applications opened on Monday 22nd August 2022.

Due to respecting the national period of mourning for Her Majesty The Queen, the deadline for applications has been extended to Monday 26th September 2022 for expressions of interest to join our advisory panel

What We’re Looking For

• People with expertise in building key skills, particularly for night time workers, creative industries, and hospitality.

• People who represent the functions of night time governance e.g. licencing, planning, commercial property or urban design.

• Industry leaders in Bristol Night Time Economy, e.g. hospitality, promoters, venues, artists, festivals, security (SIA), visitor economy, supply chain.

• Organisations that are champions for sector specific support for inclusion and access, diversity, night time safety, and sustainability.

• Members of existing networks connected to the economy.

• Charitable organisations and the social economy (e.g. social enterprises) working to support people in the night time economy.  

We welcome applicants from across the night time economy spectrum, particularly those with a wealth of experience within the sector, passion and determination to foster a collaborative mindset to expand the night time offer.

We will ensure that the panel’s membership is as diverse as possible, so its members can bring views from a range of the city’s communities. We are keen to strive for gender equality on the panel and to encourage applications from people with knowledge, skills, and/or experience of the following groups that risk being under-represented:

• Black and minority ethnic communities

• LGBTQIA+ communities

• Disabled people ; and/or

• Young professionals under the age of 30

As panel members will be responsible for its success, candidates must demonstrate an ability and willingness to work collaboratively.

Drink Spiking round table

Wednesday 24th August
5:30pm - 8.00pm. Louisiana

This session is to reflect on our work, listen to experiences of venue staff, support businesses and explore what more we can be doing as a community to protect victims of spiking.

Bristol Nights and Bristol City Centre BID invite nightlife workers, venues and promoters to join this round table to discuss drink spiking, and explore what more we can be doing as a community to protect and support victims of spiking and the businesses involved.

Bristol Nights, Bristol City Centre BID and Avon & Somerset Police have been working in partnership with Bristol’s venues to tackle drink spiking in our city.

We would like to take the opportunity to reflect on our work with nightlife operatives via a round table discussion

Capacity for this event is limited and participants will be selected based on their readiness and commitment to exploring drink spiking in Bristol’s night time economy in order to help Bristol become a safer night out for all in the future.

Please register your interest via the link below

Bristol awarded prestigious Purple Flag accreditation

Bristol’s night-time economy celebrates receiving the coveted Purple Flag award in 2022, marking the 12th year in a row the city has been recognised for this accolade.

Purple Flag is an international accreditation awarded to cities that surpass excellence in managing their evening and night-time economies. Similar to the Blue Flag for beaches, Purple Flag aims to raise the standard and broaden the appeal of town and city centres between the hours of 6pm and 6am. 

The annual Purple Flag award, overseen by the National Association of Town Centre Management, assesses qualities such as safety, diversity, vibrancy, accessibility, cleanliness and partnership working. It gives positive reassurance to those planning a night out in the city.

Bristol City Council and Bristol City Centre BID worked in partnership to manage the accreditation process through a comprehensive set of standards, ensuring that different aspects of the city’s offering were presented to the judges. Bristol was recognised for its vibrant and diverse mix of dining, entertainment and culture on offer while promoting the safety and wellbeing of visitors and local residents.

City partners that help manage the night-time economy include Bristol City Centre BID, Bristol Nights, Bristol Waste, Night Watch and Avon and Somerset Police. 

Highlights from Bristol’s submission include: 

• streamlined working of the Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) which has enhanced their services to deliver them city-wide, including safety and cleansing projects

• encouraging COVID-safe behaviours to increase public confidence

• supporting businesses through the promotion of national programmes and the City Centre and High Streets Recovery and Renewal programme

• promoting safety at night through awareness and communication campaigns including specific projects relating to drink spiking, water safety and anti-sexual harassment

• a dedicated taxi cop, to help ensure a safe service is provided to night-time economy users

Councillor Craig Cheney, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet member for Finance, Governance and Performance, said:

“Receiving this award is a great accolade to Bristol and the hard work of the council and partners across the city. Promoting a vibrant and safe nightlife is important for celebrating Bristol’s international reputation and for our independent restaurants, venues, bars and clubs who are at the heart of Bristol’s culture.”

Carly Heath, Bristol’s Night-Time Economy Advisor, said:

“Bristol’s nightlife consistently excels on the national and international stage. Bristol was one of the first cities in the UK to be awarded Purple Flag status in 2010. Receiving the award again this year comes in recognition of our continued work towards a more vibrant, welcoming, diverse and safer nightlife, and our work on campaigns including Where’s it to?, Bristol rules and Stop spiking.

“We have strived to make the city’s night-time economy stronger, safer, more inclusive and better connected for residents and visitors coming to the city for a great night out.”

Vicky Lee, Head of Bristol City Centre BID, said:

“Achieving the Purple Flag recognition is a huge benefit for businesses and the city. It attracts people to visit, study, work and live here and has a positive impact on our night-time economy. Over the last year, we have worked closely with Bristol City Council and night-time economy partners to ensure that our work supports and promotes the city, encouraging people to spend leisure time and enjoy everything Bristol has to offer.”