Watergate may move into former home of Berlin’s oldest queer club SchwuZ
SchwuZ closed its doors permanently earlier this month following a bankruptcy filing
Watergate could reopen within the former home of Berlin’s oldest queer club SchwuZ, according to the city’s Senator for Culture, Sarah Wedl-Wilson.
The future of Neukölln’s KINDL Brauerei complex was the topic of choice during a recent cultural affairs committee meeting, a multi-purpose venue that housed SchwuZ until its recent closure on November 1.
Berlin’s Senator for Culture argued that SchwuZ’s “pioneering work” made it a cultural institution, and that a smaller venue should be allowed to take over its vacated space "so that the Schwuz concept can continue”, according to BZ.
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Wedl-Wilson then pointed to Watergate, the long-running Berlin venue which was forced to close at the end of 2024 due to financial pressures, as a potential option to take over the space.
In July, SchwuZ filed for bankruptcy amid a troubling time for nightlife in the German capital, citing a “severe” financial situation. The 50-year-old venue said it was “on the brink”, announcing last month that it would close for good by November.
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According to RBB, the club suffered a deficit of €30,000 - €60,000 each month from the start of the year, and also saw a slower rate of income. The venue was forced to make redundancies as well as structural and programming changes.
Watergate was also hit with financial strain back in the summer of 2024 amid rising costs, revealing later that it would close permanently after 27 years on New Year’s Eve.
The venue’s co-founder, Ulrich Wombacher, told RA that “the realities of inflation, the energy crisis, rising costs in general, and, not least, the high rent,” had all surmounted to its eventual closure.
In April of this year, Watergate announced that it would return over summer with a series of open-air parties at Sage Beach Berlin, named Watergate Open Air (DON'T STOP THE DANCE).
Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter