How bad is Cardiff’s drinking culture?
Sian Harvey, 27, and Rhys Jones, 28, self-employed, Penarth
“It’s getting to be horrendous to be honest. – A lot of the problem is that some of the offers encourage heavy drinking – and the clubs are right next to each other so that leads to more drinking.”
Georgina Spark, 56, unemployed, Atlantic Wharf
“It was very bad at one stage. Of course it will be worse now we’re getting more youngsters starting to drink and in future years it will be worse and worse; it won’t get any better.”
Liz Edwards, 50, retail operative, Cardiff
“It’s bad enough with men but when you see the women and they’re literally spewing up in the street and, oh God, it looks really awful.”
Brian Stauber, 74, retired, Penarth
“I come here at night and I don’t find it that bad. I think it’s overdone – it’s like everything else and the media get on to it and make it more than it is.”
Jack Hirst, 22, hairdresser, Cathays
“It’s pretty bad; they drink quite a lot. Girls get into a mess as well. I’ve seen it in the newspaper quite a few times, [with] photos of girls on the floor.”
Lowri John, 22, sales assistant, Pontypridd
“I work in a shop and we get loads of drunken people in the daytime, loads of middle-aged people drinking and some 20-year-olds; they’re really boisterous and stuff. It’s quite intimidating.”
Richard Greig, 44, solicitor, Dinas Powys
“It’s been years since I used to go out in Cardiff but what I would say is that, having been to other cities, I don’t think Cardiff’s any worse than anywhere else.”
Examples of articles on Cardiff’s drinking culture can be viewed here (The Daily Mail) and here (The Sun). Maciej Dakowicz’s Cardiff After Dark collection is available at this location.
South Wales residents share their views on Cardiff’s drinking culture
A number of tabloid newspapers, including The Daily Mail and The Sun, have recently published unflattering photographs of Carnage, one of the most notorious nights in the city’s drinking calendar.
The images were taken on St Mary Street, depicting drinkers with an inability to stand, some suffering various stages of nausea and one urinating in a rubbish-bin.
These pictures follow the Cardiff After Dark collection of photographs taken by Maciej Dakowicz between 2005 and 2011, which also found notoriety within the tabloid press at the end of September 2011.
In terms of modern-day drinking culture, the spotlight has been firmly positioned on Cardiff. However, whether this portrayal of the city as the UK’s drinking hotspot is justified is a question best put to its locals.
How bad is Cardiff’s drinking culture?
Sian Harvey, 27, and Rhys Jones, 28, self-employed, Penarth
“It’s getting to be horrendous to be honest. – A lot of the problem is that some of the offers encourage heavy drinking – and the clubs are right next to each other so that leads to more drinking.”
Georgina Spark, 56, unemployed, Atlantic Wharf
“It was very bad at one stage. Of course it will be worse now we’re getting more youngsters starting to drink and in future years it will be worse and worse; it won’t get any better.”
Liz Edwards, 50, retail operative, Cardiff
“It’s bad enough with men but when you see the women and they’re literally spewing up in the street and, oh God, it looks really awful.”
Brian Stauber, 74, retired, Penarth
“I come here at night and I don’t find it that bad. I think it’s overdone – it’s like everything else and the media get on to it and make it more than it is.”
Jack Hirst, 22, hairdresser, Cathays
“It’s pretty bad; they drink quite a lot. Girls get into a mess as well. I’ve seen it in the newspaper quite a few times, [with] photos of girls on the floor.”
Lowri John, 22, sales assistant, Pontypridd
“I work in a shop and we get loads of drunken people in the daytime, loads of middle-aged people drinking and some 20-year-olds; they’re really boisterous and stuff. It’s quite intimidating.”
Richard Greig, 44, solicitor, Dinas Powys
“It’s been years since I used to go out in Cardiff but what I would say is that, having been to other cities, I don’t think Cardiff’s any worse than anywhere else.”
Examples of articles on Cardiff’s drinking culture can be viewed here (The Daily Mail) and here (The Sun). Maciej Dakowicz’s Cardiff After Dark collection is available at this location.