Policy & Civic Health · Indicator 6
Cross-agency coordination for nighttime culture
What this indicator asks
When Amsterdam's city services work together on nightlife, is there a lasting way to do so, who leads it, and does it support or police nighttime culture?
57.3/ 100 · Amsterdam
Amsterdam’s culture department leads a working group set up by the city’s night culture agenda. The group brings together the planning, events and social services departments and all eight districts. It aims to make permits simpler and cheaper. An expert said the agenda now runs to 2028. From 2029, night culture gets permanent funding in the Kunstenplan, the city’s four-year arts budget.
The Horizontaal Overleg Dance Events brings police, health and fire services, the prosecutor and organisers together. Its policy favours preventing harm over punishment, with drug testing, warnings about dangerous pills, first aid, and free water.
The mayor and the permit services decide whether a venue may open, under Horecabeleid 2025, the city’s policy for bars and clubs. Each district applies it differently.
We looked at three elements: whether a lasting joint mechanism exists, who leads it, and whether it supports or polices night culture.