Kyiv’s Closer club is crowdfunding for its survival

Closer in Kyiv, the home of Strichka festival, has started a fundraising campaign to help it survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Donate here.

The revered venue is facing financial difficulties with debts of around £30,000 due to not being able to open through lockdown and a lack of support from the Ukrainian government.

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Closer’s co-founder and CEO Sergey Yatensko posted a statement on Facebook, in which he said: "Since March, the Closer has been in quarantine and we are constantly inventing some new formats just to keep afloat somehow … But the maintenance of a big machine like Closer requires significant monthly expenses.

“We need to collect about 600 thousand UAH (£16,160) in December and collect the same amount before spring so that we can cover winter rental costs and also patch holes in the festival budget.”

The club is also offering rewards for donations of a certain amount . Any person donating €15 or higher will receive a universal QR code ticket that can be used to attend any regular Closer party, donations of €30 or higher will cover a ticket for special events such as Masquerade, Halloween and New Year, and donations of €90 or higher will receive a ticket valid for any of the festivals linked to the club: Strichka, Brave! Factory, Black! Factory and Am I Jazz?.

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

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