13 key takeaways from NEON Forum 2025

There’s a common misconception that night-time activities are all about entertainment. Far from it. The NSW night-time sector generates $110 billion in added economic value each year  * and provides the working environment for 28% of workers in the state.

As NSW 24-Hour Economy Commissioner Michael Rodrigues said in his opening keynote, “This agenda and the work we all do is not just for fun. In fact, it's never been just for fun. The work [that we do] knits together the fabric of society, the communal table we gather around. As a community we need each other. That's not just for fun, that's for survival.

“It’s the work that supports approximately 166,000 businesses. It's the work that funds the lives of 1.27 million workers. This is for livelihood. It is the work that elevates stories, that carries forward culture. This is not just for fun. This is how we preserve and how we evolve our identity.”

Barcelona City Council Night Commissioner, Carmen Zapata, also emphasised the need for nightlife not to be viewed as a problem, but something worth protecting.

"If we want to recognise culture as a public good we must protect all the basic infrastructures that sustain it, which are the music venues and nightclubs."

Whether it’s your local round the corner or an iconic home to subcultures, venues are places of community and connection.

In regional areas in particular, they can play a central role in helping their communities thrive socially, culturally and economically.

“Venues are the hubs people come to connect in good times and bad times and even beyond that. In many instances [they are] where many of our kids get their first jobs,” said the chair of Elevate Bathurst, Caddie Marshall, speaking on NEON Forum’s panel on regional venues and how they operate at the heart of communities.

“They are many things to the community… what we need to do is recognise these venues as community infrastructure, not just as private venues. We need to think differently and make bold decisions to support them.”

Community is the driver for so many business owners, creatives and policy makers, in both urban and regional centres.

“If you design for the segment of society that needs the most attention or more adaptability, you design for everyone,” said Saiful Salihudin, Lead, Urban Transformation, World Economic Forum in his keynote address at NEON Forum.

“If you make your cities more accessible at night, you make it more accessible during the day as well. It is for everyone, at every hour.”

As an added incentive, good access is also good business.

In a dedicated panel discussing accessibility and inclusion in music venues, CEO of Accessible Arts, Liz Martin, talked about a recent study  from Monash University which reported that for every $1 you spend on access, there’s a $13 return on investment.

“Investing into access can only be better for your business. Spending money or time, as not all access [measures] are about money, will mean that you have access to a wider customer base,” she said.

“It will improve your reputation by showing you care about community and the diversity of community.  You're getting return on your investment and you will sleep well at night.”

In a panel delving into the stories of Sydney’s precincts which have grown from grassroots to global recognition, experts reinforced how collaboration between businesses, community and councils can help celebrate and market the story of an area’s unique DNA and vibrancy to a wider audience.

From YCK Laneways (an Uptown District and Purple Flag Precinct) and Newtown-Enmore (Uptown District) to Burwood (trial Special Entertainment Precinct), creative collaboration is helping put vibrant areas on the map in new and sustainable ways.

“Night-time precincts are not just clusters of activities but also cultural ecosystems,” said nightlife expert and Founder and Principal of Night Tank, Dr Andreina Seijas.

“It’s important to look at them as ecosystems and how they relate and create bridges for people to visit them, but also for people who live there to feel proud and build identity.”

Place-based initiatives from the Office’s Uptown District Acceleration Program, new Regional Night-time Economy Program, Special Entertainment Precincts and Purple Flag program, provide a foundation for collaboration.

From Golden Hours at Bars of Barangaroo to the International Aeronautical Congress’ takeover of Chippendale Collective, Neon Marketplace is also helping to make finding the opportunities for collaboration easier.

Several sessions focussed on safety in the night-time economy, tackling how all players in the sector can play their part in improving safety for all, and particularly for women and gender diverse people.

From design considerations like lighting in public spaces, to education and training, a common theme was the need for proactive prevention rather than just reactive interventions.

Good Night Out Vancouver’s Education Director Stacey Forrester introduced the concept of ‘protective spaces’ – environments that go beyond good intention and combine physical design and intentional practices to make social safety an active, ongoing part of nightlife.

“We use the term protective spaces as they do not happen by accident. They come from 4 walls of protection: policy and enforcement, prevention and response tools, culture and values, and greater industry and community buy in,” she said.

NEON Forum served as the launch of the first-of-its-kind NSW Night Worker Action Plan 2025-2028.

Actioning a key priority in the NSW 24-Hour Economy Strategy and recognising the vital role the state’s night workers play in keeping NSW running after dark and in the early morning, the plan proposes practical opportunities to improve their safety, amenity and wellbeing.

Kickstarting a wider national conversation, the plan also lays the groundwork for longer term change including advocating for a clear, shared definition of night work to help shape better policies and support across the country.

“This huge group of workers has never had a comprehensive policy approach before. Until we started this work, we didn’t even know how big it was. Now we know our night workers represent a big economic opportunity and have large number of unmet needs,” said Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham.

“Night-time workers often have less secure work, fewer transport options and even struggle to get a coffee before they start work or a decent meal when they finish. We need to start planning as well for the night as we do for the day.” 

“Life at night is both a cost and a consequence of climate change,” said Founder and Principal of Night Tank, Dr Andreina Seijas on a panel discussing working towards a climate-ready night.

“When we think about the rising temperatures and climate-related changes we're experiencing in our cities it's pushing a lot of our activities into the night.  When we have more night-time activity that will also impact on the environment.”

Around the globe, the use of public spaces, including parks, plazas and beaches, after dark is becoming more common.

With nightlife and cultural communities also impacted by extreme climate events in Australia, and Sustainability a pillar in the NSW 24-Hour Economy Strategy, there’s a growing need to think more about how we adapt and react not just during the day but night, too.

“If cities can manage the night sustainably, it reveals something more significant about their ability to manage the day too,” said University College London’s Associate Professor in Urban Economic Development, Dr Alessio Koloulis in his keynote.

Under-utilised space remains a challenge across the state. The opportunity? Unlock and activate spaces in new ways including art, performance and community-led events. That also includes streets, which account for about 80% of public space in NSW.

A range of sessions on changes to regulatory barriers, including Vibrancy Reforms and Transport for NSW’s Plug, Permit, Play initiative, focussed on highlighting the latest changes and initiatives to help councils, event organisers, venues and businesses help stage sustainable local events in an easier and more affordable way.

Events like Lakemba Night Markets held during Ramadan, located in the Haldon Street Lakemba Purple Flag precinct, highlight the cultural, economic and social impact of ‘by community, for community’ events. What started as a street BBQ has become the second largest event in Sydney after Vivid Sydney, attracting over 1 million visitors in 2025.

With Sydney and NSW uniquely positioned with beautiful, natural surrounds of blue and green spaces, how can these spaces be used to participate in social activities and provide business opportunities throughout the 24-hour day?

From Uluru’s dark sky tourism to festival and artist lineup curation, sustained engagement creates successful activations and outcomes for all parties.

Managing Director and Founder of Awesome Black, Travis De Vries, spoke about his goals in establishing partnerships with creatives and industry in his work with the Office on a panel celebrating how First Nations creatives are inspired by and harness the essence of ‘Dreaming’ to transform venues and spaces into vibrant hubs of cultural activity and innovation.

“We want[ed] to see First Nations connecting with the night-time economy and small businesses…not just have a pop-up event that happens once. We connect artists and creatives in a way that they continue to engage with the businesses and the associated audience and market that that business services.”

Going forward, he says there’s still work to be done to see more Indigenous owned venues and spaces, and creatives connecting with a broad audience.

Precincts are made up of complicated webs of stakeholders, from industry and community, to police, local and state  government, and the interests of these parties don't always align.

To achieve collective impact, you need to get all of these stakeholders on the same page.

Executive Director of NYC Mayor’s Office of Nightlife, Jeff Garcia said communication is crucial.

“Part of our process of conflict resolution when we’re dealing with situations… is help[ing] businesses and community come together to discuss these issues. What we’ve realised is when people just talk to each other, in 87% of the cases we find resolutions,” he said.

Mediation and simplifying the way industry, police, council, community and government work together for mutual benefit for the 24-hour economy has been a driving force for the NSW Government’s Vibrancy Reforms.

“What we’ve been trying to do is make sure where we do have regulation that it's fit for purpose and it's based on where risk sits”, said Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner’s Director Policy, Emily Crocker, in a session exploring the opportunities unlocked by the reforms.

“Where there's low risk activity and there are good operators, the government gets out of the way and, even better, empowers and incentivises those good operators to do really great stuff and rethink what you can do at night time.”

Australians are some of the earliest risers in the world. Speaking on a panel about the rise of the morning economy, Research Fellow in Urban Analytics, University of Melbourne and Founding Director of Ingenium Research, Dr Anna Edwards, cited economic data that showed about 62% of venues, cafes and restaurants in Sydney are open by 8am. Compare that to 27% in London and 22% in Singapore.

From changing generational preferences to the growth of wellness and alcohol-free activities, this trend is expected to continue.

From morning cafe raves to late night coffee, there’s an opportunity to meet audience demand for a range of options from 6pm to 6am.

“As we come through the younger generation, we have the flexibility to think through when we socialise and when we do things a little bit differently,” Dr Edwards said.

Both the World Economic Forum’s recent report on unlocking the value of 24-hour cities and the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission’s report on the barriers impeding a vibrant 24-hour economy cited that 63% of Generation Z respondents [aged 13 to 28 years old ] say they feel lonely sometimes or often. 

“[Gen Z] don’t have the same... social skills, in romance, and they missed out on a few [key] years that everyone else had access to [because of COVID],” said Co-founder of Maple Social Club, Connor Cameron.

Many are keen to make up for it.

“They want to be out of the house constantly, trying these new experiences, getting everywhere, going where their friends are and going where their friends aren’t, [and having] the opportunity to meet new people,” he said.

With social disconnection leading to higher rates of heart disease, stroke, depression and anxiety, in-person connection has never been more important for all generations.

And given two-thirds of leisure time takes place at night, the night-time sector could be a crucial antidote to the loneliness epidemic.

“In an age where doom scrolling and on-demand home delivery have become the default night in, we’re facing a new epidemic. The miracle cure? A good night out!” said NSW 24-Hour Economy Commissioner, Michael Rodrigues.

“It’s never been more important for us to reconnect with community and herein lies an opportunity for all of us.”

International experts representing Japan, Spain, the UK, USA and Canada delivered keynotes at NEON Forum across a range of topics, with a shared message: the economic, cultural and social value of 24-hour economies is being recognised around the globe.

Sharing local data, insights, successes and challenges highlighted the common themes of safety, transport and wellbeing, as well as the opportunity to learn from each other.

“You come to realise how much we share a lot of the same issues globally, and hopefully we can learn from each other and we can take some things back home… and hopefully really help this industry continue to grow because it's so important,” said Executive Director of NYC Mayor’s Office of Nightlife, Jeff Garcia.

While NSW is recognised for leading the conversation nationally, it is also a beacon of change internationally, including being the first in the world to appoint a 24-Hour Commissioner and a Minister for the Night-time Economy,

Reflecting on the Night Worker Action Plan, University College London’s Associate Professor in Urban Economic Development Dr Alessio Koliulis said, “London needs to learn from [the] NSW Government.  The ambition and this new report that you have out is truly something that other cities should adapt.”