This is the rhythm of the night: Examining the phases of a night-out on preloading motivations and intentions to backload

•We operationalize three phases of a night: entering, within and leaving.•Preloading is valued highly at the entering phase.•Limited differences in preloading motivations between the phases.•Preloading motivations are associated with backloading at entering and within phases. Field research into the preloading phenomena has rarely examined how patrons move and transition into target events. We conceptualised three phases of the night (PotN) – entering, within and leaving – which a patron can be intercepted by a research group. Our research tested the differences between the PotN on preloading, preloading motivations and alcohol consuming behaviours in a popular night-time entertainment district (NED). The sample comprised 1,585 young-adult patrons (934 Men, 651 Women; ages 18–27 years) collected in a cross-sectional design over three PotN. We measured the patron’s preloading motivations, current alcohol intoxication and backloading intentions between three different phases of a night-out on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, from 9:00p.m. – 4:00 a.m. in Brisbane NEDs (Queensland, Australia). The phases contributed to a difference in preloading rates – one that decreased over the night (p