How Ramadan might just help save London's nightlife

As bars and clubs continue to close at a rapid rate in the capital, Queenie Shaikh explains how Islam's holy month is a lesson in how to reinvigorate the city's after-hours culture

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On a freezing -2C January night in London, I walked across Piccadilly Circus. The Christmas lights and angels were gone, replaced by National Basketball Association posters to mark its return to the capital. At just after 11.30pm, the tourists had thinned out and Central London was left to the die-hards - avid nightclub-goers smoking and shivering, huddled around heat lamps and sat on the kerbside in flocks. A few groups were loitering, scanning the streets for somewhere - anywhere - to stretch the night a little longer.

Unlike global cities such as Tokyo, New York City and Dubai – where there are tea houses, 24-hour diners and cafes purely for late-night socialising – London offers far fewer options. Here, on most nights of the week, there are only two choices after-hours: go to the pub and spend an exorbitant amount on drinks, or go home.

Even that first possibility largely expires at 11pm thanks to licensing laws, as many venues are required by local councils to stop serving alcohol and close early. And if it weren't for the Tube running a 24-hour service on Fridays and Saturdays, the night would end far earlier for Londoners. We'd be resigned to being buried under electric blankets, binge-watching trash telly.

Though over the past few years, there's one annual event that has caused a marked difference in after-hours habits: Ramadan. Each year, the month-long period of fasting observed by Muslims around the world brings a subtle shift to London. The streets become festooned with “Happy Ramadan” lights, and many halal cafes and restaurants change their hours to open just before iftar (the fast-breaking meal at sunset) and continue to accept customers well past suhoor (the predawn meal).