Ibiza confirms nightclubs can open in April

Nightclubs will be opening in Ibiza this April, reports Diario de Ibiza.

The International Music Summit (IMS) has already announced plans to host its annual season-starting event a month earlier than usual in April, signalling the start of what looks set to be the longest Ibiza clubbing season ever.

Now various nightlife and tourism figures have confirmed plans for a longer Ibiza clubbing season are in place.

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José Luis Benítez, manager of the Ocio de Ibiza (Leisure of Ibiza) association, said: “The idea is that the opening will be at the end of April, two weeks ahead of what is normally done.”

He added that the clubbing season plans to “continue on until October … November if all goes well.”

Nightlife businesses on the island will welcome the news. Clubs have not been able to open in for a full season since 2019, and only a handful of clubs opened at all in the past two-and-a-half years after getting the go ahead in October, 2021. This was also with restrictions such as capacity limits, mask-wearing and COVID passports in place.

Clubs were also only able to open for a very limited amount of time. For example, Amnesia held its opening and closing parties on the same weekend in October last year.

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Spain is keen to welcome tourists back to the country and its islands, with tourism minister Reyes Maroto recently stressing “Spain is a safe tourism destination” and "Governments must not raise alarms" in light of rising COVID cases at a press conference.

Ibiza is one of the most popular clubbing destinations in the world, and tourism is a major contributor to its economy, with a large chunk of those tourists coming from the UK.

Just 223,000 British tourists travelled to the Balearic Islands in 2020, compared to 3.7 million in 2019 — a decline of 93%.

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According to Benítez, “all of the island’s major nightlife enterprises are actively working this winter to prepare for the season.”

He added: “Even so, we will proceed with caution and in collaboration with the authorities.”

COVID passports may still be used for entry to Ibiza clubs if cases are high, but this is only being considered a back-up and to ensure they open.

Iago Negueruela, Balearic Tourism Consellor, said: “This summer, the nightclubs will be able to open. The COVID passport serves as a security tool.”

[Via: Diario de Ibiza]

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Editor, follow him on Twitter