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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Alfie Packham and Anandita Abraham

‘The live music bedrock has vanished’: gig venue closures from Oxford to Birmingham

The Sekforde, Clerkenwell, London.
‘Residents complain to the council’ … The Sekforde, Clerkenwell, London. Photograph: UrbanImages/Alamy

‘There’s just not that much on offer in Cambridge,” says Ella Stranger, 22. “We’ll either just go to the pub, or go out in London, or honestly, not do anything at all.” Ella, who moved to Cambridge to study in 2020, says there has been “a real lack of spontaneity” to nightlife in the city since the Covid pandemic restrictions were lifted in 2021.

“The main big venue is Cambridge Junction, with regional or UK DJs or acts, and tickets would be £20 to £30. So not really the type of thing that you would go to weekly,” she says.

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