It’s near to midnight on a Friday and a queue wraps around the arches of Charing Cross.
Students in glitter and vintage jackets shuffle forward outside Heaven, one of London’s most iconic and longest-running LGBTQ+ clubs.
It looks like business as usual, but talk to the 20‑somethings waiting to get in, and a different story emerges.
They say that contrary to the Gen Z stereotype, demand for clubbing exists for people their age, but affordability doesn’t.
Design student Ellie said: “Yes we did go through Covid at the coming-of-age time and maybe that has affected us a bit, but really the decision comes down to, how much is this going to set me back?”
Another, Saffron, 21, said: “My student loan is literally nothing. If my parents didn’t send me any money, I’d be sat at home right now.
“Drinks are so expensive. There aren’t many student nights with cheaper drinks for example. Where is my student night?
“Yes, there’s a long queue right now, but I don’t think it’s as busy as it should be.”
Her friend Antos, added: “You already spend so much money on other things.
“A lot of people our age probably pay for maybe three different streaming services, that’s around £50 a month as a student just to have entertainment at home.”