"I don't feel safe at the club." Generation Z is rewriting the nightlife to suit themselves
The change is not just a feeling - the numbers confirm it. According to a Slevomat survey, only 12 percent of young Czechs under 26 go out for a beer with friends every week. The fun is spilling over elsewhere: to trips, to the sauna, to house parties or cultural events.
Other research shows that Generation Z largely avoids nightclubs partly because of the discomfort. The reason? They're expensive, overcrowded and often feel unsafe.
Lucie: I don't feel safe in a club
Lucie studies cultural studies in Brno and used to be a regular on the club scene. Today she says that she rarely goes to a regular club. "There was a period when my friends and I used to go dancing every weekend. But I'm not into it anymore. I don't feel safe in a regular club. I'm scared to leave my drink unattended, and instead of music, all I perceive is chaos."
Today, she goes to queer-friendly events in alternative spaces. Like a rave in a former laundromat, where they dance barefoot and drink kombucha. "I'm not afraid there. People are receptive, you don't want to look like someone other than who you are. Nobody gropes you, the bartenders smile. You can dance if you want to, and you can also just sit and be with others."
According to the UK's Nightlife Industry Association (NTIA), 68 per cent of teenagers and young adults (18-30) have cut back on night out due to inflation and high costs - 61 per cent say they are going out less often than a year ago.More than a third don't feel safe at night and nearly 70 per cent would stay out longer with more affordable night-time transport. Then, as a result of economic pressures and the pandemic, 37 per cent of clubs in Britain have closed since 2020.
The Czech Republic is no exception. Young people are interested in mental wellbeing, replacing selfishness with community and seeking safer environments instead of traditional clubs - workshops, galleries, themed nights or house parties with clearly defined rules, for example.
Honza: The environment started to suffocate me.
Honza works as a junior designer at an agency in Prague. "I used to be, as he puts it, a "club type". But now? The environment started to suffocate me."
It's not that he doesn't want to party. He just found out there was another way. "Like last month we did a house rave - the DJ played from the living room, there was a kitchen instead of a bar, and people brought their own non-alcoholic mixed drinks. There was room to talk, dance and just be. No one had to prove anything."
According to Honza, Generation Z isn't afraid to say they don't feel comfortable in a regular club - and they're not afraid to find new ways to have fun. "It stops being cool to get drunk. There's a lot more talk about anxiety, about coping. And when you have silence and pressure, the club just makes it worse. Whereas at home or at a small event, you can set it up your way."
New types of venues
The change is having an impact on the urban landscape, too. The non-stop bars that once filled Prague at night are now slowly disappearing - or surviving only through nostalgia. A report by Aktuálně shows that the last establishments of this type can be found on the outskirts of Smíchov or Holešovice, often with a minimum of guests.
On the other hand, smaller cultural venues, galleries with an evening programme or pop-up bars without alcohol are flourishing. Prague's Žižkov, once crowded with bars, is now changing its composition - classic hangouts are being replaced by establishments with non-alcoholic mixology, a quiet corner or after-work events ending at 10 pm.
Club culture in the Czech Republic is not ending - it is just changing its shape. Generation Z shows that dancing can be done differently: more consciously, more safely, with respect for oneself and others. It's not about rejecting fun, but transforming it. If clubs can listen, adapt and stop relying on old formulas, they have a chance to find their audience again. Maybe not as noisy, but all the more sincere.
