To many not so discerning minds, the term ‘nightlife’ immediately springs to the mind a sense of notoriety. Would you agree? To many uninformed ones, hanging out in night bars and clubs is akin to trespassing a sense of dignity; a start of a volcanic desire to engage in activities you’d otherwise keep your parents away from. But to the well-read and informed minds, experiencing nightlife is simply partaking in an activity that’s full of cultural exuberance. Take the city of Berlin for instance, the very city that was carpet bombed mercilessly by the Allied Forces upon the end of the Second World War, the city where Tesla is making what’s being described as a mega factory that holds the power to change the electric automative landscape of Europe!
Bars and clubs have long thronged every nook and corner of the mega city of Berlin, associated with an enticing night life.
Even during the days of the war, Berlin was replete with bars and clubs where beer-guzzling was as common an activity as is bathing to mankind.
Clubs and dance bars have shaped the cultural landscape of a city that’s an Iconoclast, where one often travels, to this day, to party and take a bite of the German essence of life.
Back then, there were operas and plays, today, the electric soundbites excite the party poppers endlessly.
And in what can only be described as a brilliant move by the city’s authorities, the clubs of Berlin have now been officially recognised as cultural institutions. There are, as on date, no fewer than 2,500 clubs and bars in the city of Berlin, talking approximately.
But truth be told, this didn’t come any easy. The recent official recognition is a result of a year long campaign done dutifully by the Parliamentary for Club Culture and Nightlife.
Also Read: Why Does Germany Feel That Immigrants Are A ‘Gift’ To The Country!
In what can now be called a major perception change, the clubs and night bars of Berlin shall be hopefully seen from a perspective of being cultural institutions instead of just being viewed rather parochially as zones of entertainment.
And in lines with the recent development, Ms. Pamela Schobeß offered a statement:
“We would like to thank the members of the Parliamentary Forum in particular for their commitment and perseverance in this matter. With today’s decision, the Bundestag is sending a strong and long overdue signal to the republic. Music clubs are cultural institutions that shape the identity of city districts as an integral part of cultural and economic life. Now, an outdated law is to be adapted to reality. This helps to keep cities and neighborhoods alive and livable and to protect cultural places from displacement.”
Furthermore, in the month of October 2020, Berlin funded as many as 40 clubs to celebrate the city’s now-noted inaugural “TAG DER CLUBKULTURE,” which means the day of club culture.
How brilliant it truly is- isn’t it, that a city now has marked a specific day to celebrate and uphold the essence of club culture, seeing it as an institution by which one celebrates German culture instead of restricting its reach to a narrow-minded opinion, something like a place where night creatures crawl in search of booze, lust and instant gratification.