Black Friday (partying)

Black Friday, Mad Friday, Frantic Friday or Black Eye Friday is a nickname for the Friday before Christmas Eve (24 December)—that is, the Friday after 16 December—in Great Britain.

For other events, see List of Black Fridays.
Black Friday
Observed byUnited Kingdom
TypePatriotic
CelebrationsPartying
Date17 December 2021
FrequencyAnnual
Related toChristmas

It is the most popular night for end-of-year corporate and industrial Christmas parties, which consequently makes it one of the busiest nights in the year for ambulances and the police.[1][2][3][4][5]

Names

The term Black Friday originates as "jargon" used by NHS and Police, and has entered the popular lexicon. From 2013, the press began to use the term Mad Friday[6] to avoid confusion with the American Black Friday in November, which was growing increasingly popular in the UK due to marketing by American retailers.

In parts of the United Kingdom, the day has just referred to as Black Eye Friday, due to unusually high number of fights that break out in bars, pubs and clubs in the area.[7][8][9]

It is sometimes called Builders' Friday, as it is the last day of work for many construction workers.

In some towns, mostly in Devon, United Kingdom, it is also known as Factory Friday, as it is the last day of work for many factory workers who finish work at lunchtime and spend the rest of the day socialising in pubs.

In the North of England, the term "Mad Friday" has been around since at least the early nineties.

Safety concerns and preventive measures

In anticipation of the festivities, police and emergency services officials begin their preparations for Black Friday early in December. Ambulance Trusts around the country plan and set up mobile "drunk tanks" in city centres to help lighten the load on hospitals and police cells.[10] Some of the higher end mobile units can treat up to 11 people at a time with eight beds, seats with restraint straps and two showers, and can cost up to £500,000.[10] In Manchester, temporary metal detectors, or "knife arches", are erected in the busiest parts of the city to assure the public that no weapons of any kind will be tolerated.[11]

Social media

In December 2013, Greater Manchester Police promoted the hashtag #MadMancFriday to expose some of the embarrassing things that revellers would do, in the hopes of discouraging them from getting so publicly drunk again next year.[12]

Christian Nightlife Initiatives launched a "StaySafe" campaign to encourage responsible behaviour via social media.[10]

In December 2018, The Scarborough Police Service tweeted every 999 call they received to raise awareness. It is believed that Black Eye Friday puts a tremendous strain on local resources through anti-social behaviour.[13]

Table of dates

Black Friday takes place every year on the Friday before 24 December (Christmas Eve).

Year Black Friday date
2016 23 December
2017 22 December
2018 21 December
2019 20 December
2020 18 December
2021 17 December
2022 23 December
2023 22 December

References
  1. "'Black Friday' keeps police busy". BBC News. 22 December 2007. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  2. "'Black Friday' keeps crews busy". BBC News. 20 December 2008. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  3. "Ambulance service braced for 'Black Friday'". The Guardian. 18 December 2008. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  4. "Warning over alcohol at christmas parties as 'Black Friday. for 999 calls looms". Nursing Times. 18 December 2008. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  5. "Second snow band brings disruption across much of Wales". BBC News Wales. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  6. "'Mad Friday': Christmas revellers given alcohol warning". BBC News. 18 December 2015.
  7. The Cumberland News, 18 December 2008: "Cumbrian Police braced for Black Eye Friday" Archived December 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Re-linked 2014-12-05
  8. Cumbria Crack, 14 December 2011: "Police crackdown on violence in the countdown to ‘Black Eye Friday’" Archived 6 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Re-linked 2014-12-05
  9. Real Whitby, 7 December 2012: Black Eyed Friday In Whitby Archived 8 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine Re-linked 2014-12-05
  10. Harley, Nicola (December 19, 2014). "Mad Friday: How police and hospitals are preparing". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  11. "Greater Manchester Police prepare for 'Mad Friday'". BBC News. December 17, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  12. Bartlett, Evan (December 21, 2013). "Mad Friday: Binge-drinking, arrests and dancing with office chairs...Britain at its worst on its busiest night before Christmas". Metro News UK. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  13. "These were all the Scarborough incidents reported to police on 'Black Eye Friday'". The Scarborough News. 24 December 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
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