If 2025 was the year of nightlife closures in S’pore, 2026 will be the year of going small

SINGAPORE – If 2025 was a year of peak nightlife decline in Singapore, marked by closures of many of the city’s long-running and celebrated venues, what can consumers expect for 2026?

The short answer: smaller clubs, changes to one of the city’s most storied institutions and nightlife that will likely feel increasingly niche and subcultural.

The future is small

One of the clearest signs of shifts in Singapore’s nightlife culture is how its nightclubs have shrunk over the years. Gone are the days of superclubs like Butter Factory (8,000 sq ft when it was at One Fullerton, before closing in 2014) and St James Power Station (70,000 sq ft before its nightlife era ended in 2018).

One of Singapore’s newest nightclubs is Chada by Tin Box. Located in Suntec City, the venue is just under 1,300 sq ft, and kicked off with an opening party featuring Dutch-Morrocan DJ R3hab in October 2025.

“The reality is that Singapore’s nightlife has evolved, particularly in the wake of lifestyle shifts brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic,” says Tinbox Group’s group deputy general manager Charmaine Wong.

“Today, many people value curated, comfortable and meaningful social experiences over large-scale crowds.”

What next for the nightclub?

This trend towards a different sense of scale and intimacy is also reshaping one of Singapore’s longest-running nightlife institutions.

Nightclub Zouk is undergoing a revamp to turn it into more of a daytime and earlier-evening destination, with a greater focus on live music and events that go beyond the typical clubbing milieu.

“The future of nightlife isn’t just about bigger production, it’s about deeper connection. Guests want spaces where they feel like regulars, not just ticket numbers,” says Mr Andrew Li, chief executive of Zouk Group. 

Looking ahead, he predicts: “By 2026, the most successful clubs will be the ones that feel both world-class and familiar – exciting enough to post about but welcoming enough to keep coming back to week after week.”

It is a tough balancing act for operators: maintaining enough scale and spectacle to draw the crowds while offering the lower-cost and more intimate social experiences that consumers now crave.

Nightclub and event space Rasa Space opened in January 2025. With around 6,000 sq ft of floor space at Republic Plaza, it is the closest thing Singapore has to a new large-format nightclub in years.

But even Rasa is betting big on daytime offerings and lifestyle events outside the typical nightclub’s purview, from sober matcha raves to yoga sessions to comedy shows by Singaporean entertainer Kumar.

As Rasa founder Kavan Spruyt puts it: “I honestly don’t know what to say about 2026 except to stay resilient. Afternoon events on our end have gained more interest as the year went by, but we are staying cautious.”

“People are coming out only on big events,” he adds.

Increasingly early and subcultural

As the scene experiences upheaval, its biggest winners are those pushing the envelope on what nightlife can look like.

A growing number of small founder-led and bootstrapped party collectives

have been making their mark

in the years leading up to 2026, from 5210PM to Ice Cream Sundays, with more day-centric parties.

The year 2025 also saw sober party collective Beans&Beats take over Funan mall for the country’s biggest sober rave, as part of a Gen Z friendship festival co-organised by the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

It was also the year Gen Z party collective Exposure Therapy – known for its sober matcha raves – did takeovers at National Gallery Singapore and Library@Orchard.

From this reporter’s perspective, it helps that organising sober parties opens doors to collaborating with more corporate and family-friendly partners that might otherwise see party culture as incompatible with their ethos.

It also looks like more niche and subcultural offerings are set to be the future of nightlife in Singapore.

One sign of the shift towards such niche offerings is party collective Culture’s new Above30Club event series – billed as a “daytime party for the ones with back pain and bills” – which kicked off with its first event on Dec 20 at Tuff Club in Robinson Road.

“Our focus is on creating experiences that bring people together, especially those who may feel that nightlife is no longer for them,” says Culture co-founder and DJ Vira Suria.

“We can’t say for sure if this concept would have worked five years ago, and we also can’t predict if it will still work five years from now. But right now, it clearly resonates,” he adds.

“People are looking for more intentional, curated experiences that fit their lifestyle and stage of life.”

Cause for optimism in 2026

The rise of these party collectives is not the only cause for nightlife optimism in 2026.

The cost of late-night transportation has been a long-running complaint among young adults who say they feel priced out of nightlife, especially after the

end of the NightRider bus service

.

The launch of a free 4am shuttle bus service from Clarke Quay to Jurong and Tampines is one experiment in offsetting costs. The year ahead will show whether it succeeds.

And among the string of nightlife closures, there was at least

one surprising reversal

in 2025.

Wala Wala Cafe Bar at Holland Village announced in June that it would close after a 32-year run. The outpouring of support since has led to an announcement in August that it will stay on.

Amid such turmoil, 2026 looks set to be a critical year in determining the future of what nightlife looks like in Singapore.