Nottingham used to be 'the place' for stag and hen dos - but now nearly weds prefer Newcastle
In the early 00s, Nottingham was considered ‘the place to go’ for stag and hen dos.
Our city had a great reputation for nightlife, which saw brides and grooms flock here from across the UK.
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Hide AdBut data from Last Night of Freedom, the UK’s leading provider of stag and hen parties, has shown how attitudes have changed over the last 25 years.
Nottingham reigned supreme as the party hotspot for many years, but after lockdown, there was a surge in the number of parties abroad, or perhaps more woundingly, people heading to Newcastle instead.
Stag and hens want a night out in the toon instead
A new video, reflects the changing tastes of nearly-weds over a quarter of a century, showcasing the rise and fall of party hotspots across the UK and Europe.
Last Night of Freedom launched 25 years ago and has sent more than 50,000 groups on their last night of freedom, with its data showing that for the first 15 years, stags and hens couldn’t get enough of Nottingham.
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Hide AdSunnier UK hotspots like Bournemouth, Bristol, Brighton and Newquay were not far behind but soon fell off as the cheap beer and atmosphere in Eastern Europe began broadening their customer’s horizons when Vilnius, Riga, Budapest and eventually Krakow and Prague took over.
Based in Newcastle, Geordie company LNOF is proud of its hometown - and while Tyneside has always been popular it began pulling clear of Nottingham as the number one destination to celebrate, for both men and women, in around 2014.
And despite losing its top spot as king of the stag do to Benidorm based on 2023 bookings alone, Newcastle has emerged as the clear long-term favourite party city.
Changing tastes
Matt Mavir, managing director at Last Night of Freedom, said: “Nottingham’s reputation for friendly locals, buzzing nightlife and historic boozers saw customers flock there, but tastes change and we’ve seen a move to new destinations in recent years.
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Hide Ad“Stags and hens did get more adventurous and choose new destinations, with many cities – especially in Eastern Europe – feeling a massive economic benefit from stag and hen tourism in the mid-noughties, which opened up the region to UK visitors.
“Since Covid, with a few notable exceptions, we’ve seen a rebalancing where more people choose to celebrate in Britain with cities like Liverpool and Dublin, and more recently York and Belfast, become real favourites with our hen groups.
“It’ll be interesting to see where we end up in another 25 years.”
Up to 30,000 people are celebrating on around 4,000 Last Night of Freedom stag and hen parties across the UK and Europe this weekend, with around 400 people in Nottingham for 57 hen and stag parties.
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